The Suits Project
by thesuitsproject
Summary: Join the Paulsen-Specters as they begin their new life in Seattle. (A fan made 9B inspired story)
1. Chapter 1

**Suits**

**9x11**

**"The Boys Are Back In Town"**

**A Season 9 Story**

**Written by darveyscactus and CatsBalletHarveySpecter**

* * *

He pins his second cuff link into place before peering into the mirror hanging over the sink and adjusting his tie. Satisfied with his look, he grins at his own reflection before returning to the bedroom where he finds her, dressed in a navy low cut dress, hair curled, nude pumps on.

"You look beautiful," he grins, hands settling on her waist before he pulls her in for a lingering kiss.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she smirks, instinctively reaching to adjust his tie.

He smiles as her hand grazes over his chest, the familiarity of their morning routine never failing to brighten up his day. From the DA's office, to the firm where he made a name for himself, to the West coast, she was always there, fixing his tie and reminding him why this life was worth living.

There was a time in his life where he doubted he would ever have this. And now here he was, starting a new life in a new city with the woman he loved. The woman he'd spent over a decade loving.

"Ready?" He asks, trailing her from their bedroom towards the kitchen of their newly renovated penthouse apartment. It was smaller than his apartment in Manhattan, but it felt like home. The kitchen was complete with mahogany cabinets and a granite countertop and was set across from the open concept living room that was furnished with a plush cream coloured sofa and a gas fireplace.

He crosses the kitchen towards the hallway and settles near the small end table they'd brought from Donna's apartment, glancing over at where Donna was slipping into her coat.

"This is going to be a good thing Harvey," she replies, answering his unasked question.

"I know, it's just…"

"It's different."

"It's no Manhattan, that's for sure. Did you know that it rained so much here when you agreed to this?" He asks.

"Of course you did, you're Donna," he answers his own question when she smirks and rolls her eyes.

"We should get going. Wouldn't want to be late on the first day. Might make the wrong impression with the new boss."

"Let's get one thing straight right now, he's my partner, not my boss."

"Right," she teases, moving to fetch her purse.

"Let's get this over with," he moans.

"Don't sound so excited," she replies mockingly.

"I'm excited, I'm just, adjusting."

"It's going to take some time."

"You know what might help?" He cocks his eyebrow as he steps towards her, trapping her body between his and the front door.

"I have a pretty good idea," she smirks, "but _that_ would make us late."

"Worth it," he says, leaning in to steal a kiss.

"For you, maybe. But one of us wants to make a good impression on her first day."

"Fine. But when we come home, you and I are breaking in that new bedroom set Mrs. Paulsen-Specter."

"Wow, using my full name, so formal."

"What? Can't I use my wife's full name freely?"

She responds by placing her palm on his chest and leaning up to kiss him, before stepping back and snaking her left hand in his.

He smiles as he feels her wedding ring brush against his own fingers, giving her palm a gentle squeeze before they set out to start their new adventure.

"Shall we?" He asks, locking the door behind them.

"Let's go and show Seattle what New York City's best closer can do," Donna grins, looping her arm through Harvey's as they enter the elevator. As the doors begin to close, she leans in to steal a kiss, her palm settling on his chest as she smiles against his lips. This was it, their new beginning. Her and her Harvey against the world.

_See the money wanna stay_

_For your meal_

_Get another piece of pie_

_For your wife_

_Everybody wanna know_

_How it feel_

_Everybody wanna see_

_What it's like_

_I'll even eat a bean pie_

_I don't mind_

_Me and Missy is so early busy busy makin' money_

_Alright_

_All step back, I'm 'bout to dance_

_The greenback boogie_

"Excuse me old man? The men's health clinic is down on four," Mike calls as he struts into his own office and finds Harvey at his desk.

"And here I thought you'd matured," Harvey snickers.

"Guess it's true what they say, you can give the man a fancy title and a nice suit but you can't take away his lame jokes."

"Is that any way to talk to your new boss?" Mike asks.

"Partner," Harvey clarifies.

"Right," Mike laughs, dropping his book bag onto his chair and emptying the contents onto his desk.

"Where's the Mrs. this morning?" he adds.

"She and Rachel went for coffee, something about catching up before work, which doesn't really make sense to me considering they went out a few days ago but what do I know."

"Welcome to the club, buddy."

"What club?"

"The one where you know it's better to agree with your wife than ask a million questions about why she's doing something."

"I knew better than to ask Donna those questions long before she became my wife."

"Right, because it took you a million years to make her your wife."

"Are you ever going to stop making those remarks?"

"And stop reminding you of what an idiot you were? Doubtful."

"Remind me why I thought working together again would be a good thing?"

"You can just admit you missed me you know," Mike smirks.

"But then I would be lying."

"Admit it, Harvey, you've missed this," he gestures between the two of them.

"I'm looking forward to working together Mike."

"I'll take it. Anyways, I've arranged for Janet to show you to your new office. I have a meeting with Damian Wentworth this afternoon and I thought maybe you'd like to join me? See how we do things around here?"

"Two o'clock, I'll meet you in the lobby," he adds before gesturing towards the older blonde that Harvey assumes must be Mike's secretary standing in the office door.

"It's good to have you back, Harvey. Now get your fat tie out of my face and get to work."

Janet introduces herself to Harvey and leads him down the corridor, past a slew of glass walled offices occupied by young professionals in semi-casual business attire. He does his best to smile at them as they walk past, but the looks he receives in exchange tell him fitting in here was going to be harder than he initially thought. The offices were located in a ten story building that overlooked the bay and had a casual vibe that he wasn't used to experiencing in an office setting. It wasn't like he stood out wearing his suit and tie, but the vibe he got was much more relaxed than what he was used to.

He continues to follow Janet down the hall, smiles politely at the blonde lady sitting behind the reception desk at the elevators and makes a note to tell Donna how much he hated how bright and happy everything seemed at Zane Ross. People shouldn't be so chipper while they worked, it was odd.

"This here is the kitchen. Coffee is in the second cabinet and be sure to replace the filter before making a fresh pot. On Fridays we have doughnuts brought in but other than that there usually isn't more than a handful of granola bars so you should pack your own snacks."

"Right," he replies skeptically, glancing around the small kitchen space. He smiles when his eyes fall upon the unopened box of bran bars, knowing Louis would have been the first to claim them as his own. He chuckles to himself, thinking back on the time Louis lost his mind because Mike ate his last bran bar and spent the afternoon lecturing the associates on the importance of understanding personal property. He takes a moment before following Janet back up the hall; this was a new beginning, it was a good thing.

"This floor has the partner's offices and a few paralegals. Down on five we have the associates and accounting and on four we have IT, don't bother them if you don't need to."

"Your offices will be down the hall across from Mr. Ross' office, and I had most of your stuff put into place by your new secretary, Benjamin."

Harvey stifles a laugh, thinking back to the Benjamin they'd left in Manhattan and how funny it would have been to have him as a secretary. He bets Donna would have gotten a real kick out of it, she always enjoyed flirting with the young IT guy, even if he was always slightly jealous. It's not lost on him that Janet used the term _offices_ and he smiles to himself. Everything else may have changed, but she was always a constant in his life and that was no different this time around. Her desk would be a few feet from his, and he could proudly watch his wife conquer the Seattle law scene.

"Any questions?" she asks as she comes to a halt outside of the large glass walled office that was labelled with a temporary sign that read,

_Harvey Specter. Partner._

He'd blown through so many titles in the past few years. Name Partner. Managing Partner. Senior Partner.

Now, he was just a partner. Plain and simple.

And for the first time in his life, he was excited to embark on a journey with no excess responsibilities, no disgruntled employees or law suits threatening to take his job. He was Harvey Specter, a partner. And he was here to do the one thing he'd always loved; practice law.

"Nope, I think I've got it."

"Then I'll leave you to it. It was nice to meet you Mr. Specter."

"You as well," he offers her a smile before strolling into his brand new office.

It was smaller than his former office, the large glass desk placed in the center taking up the majority of the space but he still had enough space for a small leather sofa and a coffee table where he noticed there was a bottle of Macallan and a note.

He wanders over to it and picks up the note, grinning to himself as he places it on his desk and plops himself in the leather seat behind a computer screen.

_It's good to have you back, Batman. - Mike_

He looks around at the items that had already been unpacked and spread on his desk. A few of the fine tip pens he was keen on, a photo of him with Jessica, Louis, and Donna from a firm event almost a decade prior. He never noticed it before, or at least he pretended not to notice but Donna looked radiant in that photo. With her green dress and her hair pulled back, she was breathtaking. His eyes settle on a new photo sitting next to it in an identical black frame and his smile widens. A photo of them dancing on their wedding night. The night he finally smartened up and made her his.

She was stunning, her hands wrapped around his neck, her smile wide, eyes sealed shut while he twirled her around and held her in his arms. She was his everything and this photo was a perfect reminder of why. She made even his worst days better, she made him laugh, and most of all, she made him want to be a better man.

Staring between the two photos, he supposes a part of him had always known how important she was to him, how much he loved her. Once she'd infiltrated his soul, he knew there was no going back. The love he felt for her was unparalleled, unmatched and all consuming. He craved her touch, yearned for her kiss and dreamt about the way she felt firmly pressed against his chest as they slept. His mind, body, and spirit came alive when she was near. She was his compass, his life line and his everything and now, by some magnificent twist of faith, she was his wife.

Rounding his desk, he saunters over to the window and peers out over the city. Seattle. If you would have asked Harvey a year ago where he saw himself in the future, getting married and moving out West to work as a partner at a minor law firm wouldn't have been what he answered. Everything had changed. And for as much as he feared the change, he was excited to embrace it.

He glances at the duck painting hanging over his desk before he leaves his office in search of his wife, certain she had something to do with his new office decorations.

Everything may have been changing, but he was grateful that some things never changed.

He watches as she scribbles a few things down on a notepad, the sun streaming into her office igniting her already flaming red locks. He loves that they'd been at work for no more than a few hours and she was already hard at work. He knocks three times on the glass door before stepping into her office and taking a seat opposite her at the large marble desk beneath the window, her office layout mirroring his own.

He smiles when he spots an identical framed photo from their wedding night on her desk and offers her a soft "hey."

"How's your morning going?" she asks.

"Oh you know, just trying to find my footing, getting used to how things run around here."

"I think this is going to be a good fit for us," she says.

"What makes you say that?"

"Just a feeling I have," she replies, dropping her Bic pen and giving him her undivided attention.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your morning, I just wanted to see if you have time in your busy schedule to grab lunch?"

"I would love too."

"See you at 12?"

"I'll meet you in your office. I'd love to see it."

"Like you weren't the one who hung that painting up for me," he playfully rolls his eyes at her.

"I wanted you to feel at home."

"You're here, I am home."

"Oh god, I've married a sap."

"You've turned me into one."

"I don't know about that, I think you've always been a secret romantic."

"I refuse to answer that on the grounds I don't want to."

"Such a lawyer. Lunch? 12? You can meet me here? Seeing as I've already seen your office."

"See you then. And I like the new office," he beams before leaning over her desk to place a gentle kiss on her cheek and seeing himself out of her office.

Like Harvey's, Donna's office was smaller than the one she'd left behind in Manhattan, but it had the same bright and airy feel, thanks to the large windows overlooking the bay. Her desk sat in the center and there was a bookcase, a small couch, and a coffee table off to one side. On her last day at the firm in New York, Donna had packed up a few items that had been on her desk for as long as she could remember and made sure they made the trip to Seattle. Her 'let's kill all the lawyers' plaque and blue ceramic bird now sat on a corner of her desk next to a photo of her and Harvey dancing on their wedding night. They were both smiling a mile wide and she was mid-twirl, her hand clasped in his and raised above her head. Next to that was a photo of Lucy Litt, taken a few days after she was born. It's only been a couple hours, but every time she looked at that corner of her desk, she found herself smiling, the items a perfect blend of old and new.

A sudden blaring from her cell phone demands her attention but as she reaches for it and reads the _Louis Litt_ across the screen, her features soften and she answers with a smile.

"Louis," she beams, "how are you? How's Lucy?"

"Donna, you wouldn't believe it but my little nugget is a Broadway fan!" he replies back without so much as a 'hello'.

"She's a month old Louis..."

"And she knows her Wicked from her West Side Story!"

"Is this why you called? To brag that your month old daughter is a fan of Glinda the Good Witch?"

"Actually I just wanted to see how the first day was going, see if you two had smartened up and were ready to come crawling back to us yet?"

"Louis!" She scolds and she can hear him mutter to himself on the other end.

"I know! I know! We talked about this and I'm not supposed to ask. And we both know, Lucy has great taste she would never be a Glinda fan, she's an Elphaba fan through and through."

"Louis…"

"Right, how are you Donna?" he finally asks and she can't help but smirk. It had only been a month but she missed him and just how_ Louis_ he could be at times.

"I can't complain. Things here are… different," she chooses her word carefully, "But I think we're really going to like it. We miss you guys though. How's everything over -?" She's cut off mid-sentence by someone who sounds like Katrina on the other end of the line.

"Sorry to interrupt Louis I just wanted to let you know that the pen company got back to us, they have the ones that you like, but they said it's going to cost an extra $300 for the blue ink," Katrina says as she absentmindedly struts into Louis' office, failing to realize he's on the phone. He places one hand over the receiver but not close enough that Donna can't hear the conversation unfolding on the other end.

"How much!? What is it made of, gold?! Does it come with a personal scribe that's going to write for me?" He snaps, holding the phone away from his ear.

"Sorry about that Donna, this company is trying to ROB US!" he exclaims and this time it's her turn to hold the phone away from her ear.

"Was that Katrina?" she asks, ignoring his impending pen crisis.

"It was."

"How's she doing?"

"Honestly, she's really stepped up to the plate. You were right about promoting her to name partner."

"When am I not right?" she chuckles, relaxing into her seat.

"How's Harvey doing?" Louis asks.

"He's Harvey. Change has always been hard for him but he seems happy here."

"And you sound happy," Louis points out and she realizes, she truly is. For the first time in years she wasn't worried about crazy cases, someone losing a license, or whether or not she would end up with the man she loved. Instead, she was peering out of the window of her brand new office, while the man she loved sat a few feet away, and she was happy.

"I am Louis, I really am."

"No one deserves it more than you two. But I mean it, you better get back here and visit really soon, Lucy misses you."

"Just Lucy?"

"You know it's not the same without you two here."

"We miss you too, Louis. Let's talk soon okay? Maybe we can plan a trip down to the city and give Lucy some time with her uncle Harvey while we go and see whatever show you want to see."

"I would really love that Donna."

"It was great to hear from you Louis."

"You too. Give Harvey my best, would you?"

"I will." And with that she ends the call and places her phone back down on her desk.

* * *

"I hope I'm not interrupting?" a voice asks, and Donna looks up at the noise to see a petite blonde woman standing in the doorframe.

"Of course not," Donna says, gesturing for her to enter.

"I'm Monica," the woman says as she crosses the office, hand outstretched to greet Donna.

Donna stands and returns her enthusiastic smile, but she can't yet tell if Monica is genuine or overcompensating for something.

"I'm -,"

"Donna," Monica says before Donna has a chance to finish, "I know, we've all heard _so much_ about you," she adds, eyes widening as she spoke.

"Oh, well," Donna starts, not quite sure what to make of Monica's comment.

"I'm the firm's receptionist," she continues, taking a seat across from Donna, "but Rachel asked me to fill in as your secretary until you can hire one," she says, "so, here's briefs on all the cases we're working on," she says as she places a small stack of folders on Donna's desk, "some information on upcoming cases, and a bit on everyone who works here," she finishes, adding more folders to the pile.

"Well, thanks Monica," Donna says, probably a bit too enthusiastically, "I'm sure all this will bring me up to speed in no time."

"You have nothing on your calendar for today, but there's a welcome breakfast for the new associates tomorrow morning you should come to," she adds as she stands to leave.

"Harvey and I will be there, then," Donna says, thinking it a good idea for them both to get to know the people they'll be working with.

"Oh right," she catches Monica mumbling under her breath, "anyways, we've never had a COO before, so I'm excited to see what you do here, Mrs. Specter," she says, flashing Donna another wide smile.

"It's actually -," Donna starts to correct her, but realizes her efforts are futile as she watches Monica flit down the hallway, blonde curls bouncing along behind her.

* * *

Not quite sure what to make of her conversation with Monica, Donna dives headfirst into the stack of files she'd left behind. She spends a couple of hours pouring over the materials and before she knows it, it's just before 12 and she's pulled from her thoughts as Harvey knocks softly on her door.

"You still have time for lunch?" he asked, wandering into her office and perching himself on the arm of one of the chairs across from her.

"I always have time for you," she replies with a smile, catching his gaze and closing the folder infront of her.

"Who's the sap now?" he teases, but Donna just laughs and shakes her head slightly as she reaches for her bag under her desk.

"So lunch," she says, rounding her desk and taking a step towards Harvey, "Rachel told me about the cutest little French place right around the corner that has these great -"

"Before we go," he says, interrupting her but smiling at the way she excitedly chattered about their lunch plans, "I have something for you."

"Really? What?" she asks, clearly taken surprised by his comment.

"Just a little something for your new office," he replies, smiling as he takes a small package from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and places it in her outstretched hand.

Donna removes the wrapping quickly and her smile widens as she removes the lid of the gift box and sees what's inside. He'd framed two of her old business cards from the firm in New York - one from the days of Pearson Hardman when she was Harvey's secretary, and a more recent one where her title read 'Chief Operating Officer'.

"Harvey," she says, looking up at him for an explanation.

"I wanted you to have a reminder of how far you've come," he explains, "and I want you to know how proud I am of you," he says.

"Thank you," she says, a genuine smile spreads across her face as she stretches to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. Her smile widens as she places the small frames on her desk - she'd always known that Harvey was an incredibly thoughtful person, even back when it was buried deep down. Now though, after months of being on the receiving end of such gestures, there was something about the genuine way he performed such gestures that left her breathless. She'd once said he was a terrible gift giver; she'd never been happier to be proven wrong.

"Alright Mr. Specter," she says, linking her arm through the crook of his elbow, "I think it's time you make good on your offer to take the city's best COO out to lunch."

* * *

After returning from lunch with Donna, Harvey finds a note from Rachel on his desk asking him to meet her in her office before his afternoon meeting.

Tucking a notebook under his arm, he heads down the hallway and stops just outside of the office labelled, _Rachel Zane - Partner._ He smiles to himself before knocking, remembering the first time Rachel crossed his radar as a paralegal. She'd come such a long way since back then and he was proud to watch her grow into the accomplished young woman she now was.

Rachel calls him in with a soft smile and he peers around her office, almost identical to Donna's, with the exception of a handful of photos of her and Mike. His eyes are drawn to the photo of the four of them at Mike's wedding and she follows his gaze.

"That was a good day."

"It was," he agrees, taking a seat across from her.

"You'd never know you two weren't together there," she smirks.

"I'd like to think that was for good reason," he says.

"I've never seen her so happy," Rachel says, "she couldn't stop talking about how excited she is about being here when we got coffee this morning."

"That smile makes being here worth it."

"I'm so happy for you Harvey. For both of you."

"Thanks. You, um, wanted to see me?" He adds.

"I just wanted to prepare you before you join Mike this afternoon."

"I think I know how to handle myself in a client meeting with Mike. Do I have to remind you that I was his boss?"

"That's actually why I wanted to talk to you, Mike's a partner here, Harvey. He's the founding partner. He's not some kid associate anymore and you need to follow his lead today."

"Got it," he nods and the look in his eye reassures he that he understands and he's finally ready to play second fiddle to his former associate. He and Donna had already talked about the adjustments that would need to be made at the new firm, and he had come to terms with the fact he would have to take Mike's lead on occasion long before they even stepped off the plane.

A year ago, she couldn't imagine Harvey willingly taking the backseat to Mike in a meeting. Then again, a year ago, she never would have imagined he'd get his head out of his ass and make Donna his.

Rachel continues to tell Harvey about the client he was meeting with Mike, providing him details about both the company and the companies head so he would be prepared. Damian Wentworth was the CEO of The Green Room, an environmental non-profit company that worked to reduce the use of plastic by large commercial companies and replace with more sustainable choices. Damian was a middle aged man that was extremely passionate about the work his company did and she informed Harvey that upon first meeting he came off as an extreme environmentalist.

Harvey scoffs as Rachel fills him in on the case details for his meeting with Mike that afternoon and mutters to himself.

"Okay, what is it?" she asks.

"Nothing. It's just, I used to work on multi-million dollar deals and now I'm fighting against plastic."

"Harvey, this client is a big deal. He was the first one Mike and I signed when we opened the firm and we need this meeting to go well. Can you at least try and take what I'm saying seriously?"

"Fine. I'll try."

"And if you have any other questions you can always ask his secretary for an extra copy of the case files."

Before he can reply, Mike knocks on Rachel's office door, "You ready?"

"Yeah yeah, let's go save the turtles or something."

Harvey follows Mike down the hallway and into a corner conference room, early afternoon sunlight streaming into the two large windows.

"Mike," the man sitting at the table says as they enter the room, "good to see you," he says, rising to shake his hand.

"You too, Damian," he replies, "I'd like you to meet my new partner, Harvey. He joined us this week from New York."

"Good to meet you, Harvey," he says, extending his hand.

"You too," Harvey replied.

"So Damian," Mike starts once the three men have taken their seats, "what's happening?"

"Well," Damian starts, taking a breath and clasping his hands together on the table in front of him, "my company just signed this huge deal to supply reusable containers and compostable silverware for all the state government offices," he explains, grinning slightly at his accomplishment.

"I'm sorry," Harvey interrupts, "but how is that a bad thing?"

"If you'd let me finish," Damian quickly replies, casting a sideways glance at Mike.

"I'm sorry yes," Harvey says sheepishly, "go ahead."

"Because of the deal with the state, the city of Seattle pulled their contract with Pacific Plastics and signed with us. And now those goddamn plastic bastards are suing us for damages," he finishes with a huff, passing a folder across the table to Mike and Harvey.

"Well," Harvey says eventually, after looking over the materials in the folder for a few moments, "the good news here is that the grounds for their lawsuit are pretty weak," he explains as Damian lets out a sigh of relief.

"But the not so great news is your defense would also be pretty weak if this wound up in court," Mike countered.

"It's likely we can get this whole thing dismissed, though," Harvey assures, hoping to save face with his new client.

"Let the dream team do it's thing and I'll give you a call tomorrow," Mike tells Damian as they leave the room and walk Damian to the elevators.

* * *

"The dream team?" Harvey asks as the pair walk back to Mike's office to get started on Damian's case.

"Just trying out a new catchphrase," Mike replies with a shrug, "what? You don't like it? I thought working with me again was a dream come true."

Harvey doesn't say anything, just gives Mike an eye roll and a sideways glance, which he takes as an invitation to keep talking.

"Alright, we can try something different. Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, Bonnie and Clyde, Themla and Louise," he offers, raising his eyebrows and giving Harvey a pointed look.

"How about we stick with Butch and Sundance," Harvey replies, trying his best to sound unamused by the conversation.

"You do realize I'm Butch now, seeing as I'm your boss and all," Mike challenged, which made Harvey sigh heavily.

"Alright _Butch_," Harvey replied, tossing the case files across the coffee table towards Mike, "how do you suggest we get Damian out of his situation?"

* * *

As Donna is packing up to head home for the night, she spots Rachel lingering at his office door.

"Hey Rach, Harvey just texted and said he and Mike decided to grab drinks so I figured I would head home. Do you want a ride?"

"Actually, I came down here to see if maybe Harriet Specter had time for drinks with Michelle Ross tonight?"

Donna takes a moment to consider the offer, seeing as Harvey would be out late and she had no desire to unpack their remaining boxes, she accepts and soon she and Rachel find themselves seated at a bar, martinis in hand.

"And he does this insane thing where, when we're watching TV, the volume has to be on an even number," Donna explains, midway through her second martini, "but the most annoying thing is that he never asks me to change it like a _normal_ person would, he just silently reaches for the remote, changes it himself, and mumbles 'even number' under his breath," she finishes, shaking her head.

"Oh my god, Mike can't stand it when cabinets and drawers are left open, even the slightest bit. But sometimes when I'm cooking I leave them open on purpose because I'm not done yet, but _every single time_, he appears out of nowhere and closes them anyways and it's so infuriating," she says, breathing out a sigh.

"Men," Donna laughs, shaking her head slightly.

"I can't believe you two really did it," Rachel says after a moment of comfortable silence, "That we all ended up here somehow, the four of us."

"Who would've ever thought that Michelle Ross and Harriet Specter would get to meet Rachel Ross and Donna Specter."

"Not me, that's for sure. I'm so glad you two finally saw it, even if I'm still bitter you got married without me there."

"Saw what Rach?"

"What the rest have us have seen for years. The loyalty and the love that you two have for each other. Truthfully Donna, I've always admired it. When Mike and I went through the Logan thing and then all of the prison drama, wanting something like what you two had is what helped me through it."

"We weren't even together?"

"But you protected each other and would have done anything for each other. What you two had even back then is hard to come by."

"And about doing it without you, you know we wish you were there."

"I know. I can't believe I took that last minute case in London and I missed all the fun. Guess you guys will have to do it again for me."

"Ha, not in this lifetime."

"Okay," Donna continues with a breath, finishing off her drink and setting her hands on the table in front of her. "Enough about me," she pauses, locking eyes with Rachel.

"What?" she replies with a laugh.

"What's going on with you," Donna prys, "I feel like we've been talking about me nonstop since I got here,"

"Well, you are the one who just got married," Rachel sasses, but Donna doesn't bite, she just cocks her head to one side and purses her lips.

"Alright, alright," Rachel says, throwing her hands up in mock defeat. "I'm good," she says after a breath, "Mike and I are both really good, finally."

"What do you mean finally?"

"I mean, we feel really settled. We moved right after we got married, and then worked crazy hours for months getting the firm up and running and established. We finally feel like everything's fallen into place and we can just live and enjoy what we do," she explains with a smile.

"So," Donna starts, drawing out the o as a mischievous grin spreads across her face, "when are you and Mike going to make me an aunt again?"

"Oh my god, you sound like my mother," Rachel says as she rolls her eyes, "not for a while though," she admits, and Donna pouts in response.

"We've talked about it a lot, and we're going to wait a bit. We really like where we are right now - we have time to go out and do things and just enjoy one another's company and we know that as soon as we have a kid that kind of freedom will vanish."

"You better not enjoy one another's company too much or we might end up with a little accident," Donna jokes, which earns her an eyeroll and a playful swat to the forearm from Rachel.

"Alright your turn," Rachel says, "when are you and Harvey going to make _me_ an aunt?"

"Well, as _someone_ just pointed out, we just got married _and_ moved to a new city, so," Donna sasses, "but honestly, it's something we've barely considered," she admits.

"But you've talked about it?"

"A little bit after Lucy was born, but so many things have happened so quickly, I think we need to settle down a bit before we're ready for any kind of serious conversation," she says, as Rachel nods in understanding.

"And who even knows," Donna adds with a laugh, "maybe I'm too old and dried up down there for it to even happen at all."

"You're Donna, you can do anything," Rachel jokes.

"Here's hoping that biology agrees with you."

* * *

It's a few days later and she's curled up on the couch with her nose in a book when she hears his keys in the door. She turns in the direction of the noise and sees him striding across the room towards her, smile on his face.

"You're home early," she says as he bends down to give her a quick kiss.

"Yeah, the meeting was quick," he explains, walking into the kitchen and pouring himself a glass of wine before offering one to her too.

"And it went well?" she asks, although she was already pretty sure it had, given the huge grin he was sporting.

"It did," he replied, passing her his phone and silently inviting her to pick something to order for dinner. 'Mike found Pacific Plastics a small, but lucrative deal with a public school in Texas and offered to negotiate it if they dropped the case against Damian," he explained.

"Those poor Texas turtles," Donna says, hanging her head slightly which makes Harvey roll his eyes.

She passes his phone back to him and studies his expression. "What?" he asks, looking up from his phone to find her staring at him.

"Nothing," she says dismissively, "it's just -," she pauses, searching for the right words, "your cases are usually so much more complicated, this one wrapped so quickly."

"It took us a bit to find a loophole in the state law that would give us grounds for a dismissal if Pacific Plastics didn't take the deal. But Mike knows both businesses well and knew how to make a deal that both sides would be alright with," he explains.

"You're proud of him."

"No, I'm proud of myself," Harvey quickly counters, "he wouldn't even be a lawyer if it wasn't for me."

* * *

"Hey Rach, I'm home," Mike calls as he walks through the foyer of their condo.

"And you brought burritos," she says excitedly, leaping down from the kitchen stool and taking the bag out of his hands.

"I still can't believe that it took a move to Seattle for you to eat burritos."

"I've always liked burritos," she clarifies as she pulls plates from the cabinet, "I just didn't care for your greasy, smelly, probably wouldn't pass health inspection Brooklyn burritos," she sasses.

"How did you meeting go?" she asks, pouring them each a glass of wine.

"It was great, they took the deal and those goddamn plastic bastards are no longer our problem," he boasts.

"And Harvey?"

"He was really helpful with the state law stuff," he says, "but he really followed my lead. I mean, he had his own ideas, but he deferred to me. Which," he paused," now that I think about it, is kind of surprising," he finishes, glancing over to Rachel.

"I may have said something to him before the case started," she admits sheepishly, and Mike gives her another look.

"But honestly, I think he would have done that had I spoken to him or not," she admits.

"Really?"'

"He trusts you, Mike," she says simply, "he wouldn't have taken this job if he didn't think you knew what you were doing."

"So the student really has become the master then," Mike says boastfully.

* * *

He finds himself sitting at the edge of their bed, doing up the final buttons on his shirt as he waits for her to finish getting ready for their night out with Mike and Rachel.

"What time are we supposed to be there?" he calls into the closet.

"Not for another half hour. You know, maybe you can fill the dishwasher while you wait?" she calls out to him.

"Um, yeah sure."

"But Harvey," she says, peeking out from behind the closet door so he can see her.

"Yes?"

"Please put the cups in the right way," she smirks before disappearing behind the door once again.

"There's a _wrong_ way?" he asks, following her into the walk in closet.

"Yes," she answers, stepping into a simple, yet elegant, black dress that fell just below the knee and bunched at the waist.

"You see, when you put them in there upright they fill with water."

"They're supposed to fill with water," he replies with a cock of his eyebrow, his gaze fixed on where her bare back was exposed by the open zipper on her dress.

"Clean water," she corrects, crossing the room and turning so her exposed back is turned to him.

"Do you mind?"

He nods and reaches for the zipper, slowly tugging on it so that the freckles lining her back begin to disappear beneath the silky material. He knows it will only be a matter of hours before he sees them again, before he brushes his lips over them giving each of them the attention they deserve, but he's sad to see them being tucked away. Donna's freckles were something he'd always adored, but if married life had taught him anything, it was that her hidden freckles were the ones he loved the most.

His free hand hovers over her hip as he leans closer, slowly moving the zipper up as his lips hover above her ear.

"Are you sure you want to go out tonight?" he whispers, breath hot on her neck.

She hesitates for a moment before answering, his free hand having fallen to her waist, his front pressed firmly into her back.

"Yes," her voice falters and she's not sure he's convinced she means it.

He replies by placing a kiss just above her collarbone, his hands anchoring her against his body as she melts into his touch with a low sigh. He works a trail of kisses from the outerward most part of her collarbone towards her neck, where he decides to withdraw his lips and refocus his attention on nibbling on her earlobe; something he'd discovered drove her wild.

She reaches behind her head, hooking her fingers through his hair and encouraging him, allowing herself to get lost in his touch for a moment before reality comes slamming back into her.

"Harvey," she mumbles but he resumes kissing her.

"We need to stop or we'll never leave."

"Fine by me," he shrugs, stealing a brief kiss.

She gives in to his taste once again, whirling around to face him as he locks his lips with hers and a pleasantly surprised squeal escapes her throat at the sudden contact.

"Harv-" she mumbles between kisses, her palm falling on his chest as she breaks their kiss and pushes herself away.

"Fine, but we're finishing this conversation when we get home."

He groans as he reluctantly releases her waist and watches as she walks away to retrieve her bag, a small pout on his lips.

"I was hoping we could finish it in the shower later?" she sasses, "you know, _after_ you rewash all the dirty cups from the dishwasher?" winking at him before strutting out of the closet, Harvey hot on her heels.

* * *

"Louis really thought it was Samantha?" Mike laughs, all eyes on Harvey as he tells the story of the time he replaced Louis' cat photos with stock photos of various dogs.

"To this day he's still upset with her about it," he laughs, squeezing Donna's hand that he held beneath the table.

Eventually the laughter subsided as the group continued to reminisce about the days the four of them ruled the Manhattan law scene. Mike and Harvey joke about the time Mike went to prison, for the first time since the event occurred and Donna and Rachel giggle about the nights they spent as Michelle Ross and Harriet Specter; something that Mike and Harvey can't believe they used to do.

The irony of their situation is not lost on Donna. She and Rachel sitting here across for their husbands, a Specter and a Ross, just like their former alter-egos, only now they were actually a Ross and a Specter.

They'd come so far since their time at Pearson Hardman.

Mike and Rachel fell in love. Mike had gone from a fraud to a legitimate lawyer, and Rachel had gone from a paralegal to one bad-ass lawyer.

They'd gone from strangers to friends and now here they sat a family.

And she and Harvey… they finally had everything.

Laughing over drinks with her hand secured firmly in her husbands beneath the table, she can't help but smile at how her life had turned out. It may not have followed the path she'd outlined for herself in her early twenties, but it turned out much better than she ever could have imagined.

* * *

"It's done, they signed it," Katrina says with a smile and a sigh of relief as she strolls into Louis' office.

"That's great," Louis replies, returning her smile and rising from his chair. "I think this calls for a celebration," he says, moving across his office to his bar cart.

"It was just a standard merger," Katrina dismisses.

"No, Katrina, it was your first merger as name partner," Louis replies sincerely, "and that's something to celebrate.

"Gretchen?" Louis calls, switching on his intercom, "Can you ask Samantha and Alex to come in here please?"

"I hear a celebration is in order," Samantha says a few minutes later when she strolls into Louis' office, Alex behind her.

"Pfizer and Purdue just signed a $28 billion merger, all thanks to Katrina," Louis says, practically beaming at the success of his protege turned partner.

"Here's to Katrina then," Alex says, accepting a glass of scotch from Louis' outstretched hand and raising it in a toast.

Holding his glass to his lips, Louis looks at his partners casually chatting and laughing with one another. It'd been a month full of change, with Faye finally getting the oust, Lucy being born, and Harvey and Donna leaving, but they'd really come together during the transition. Losing Harvey and Donna was a loss, and he still felt it sometimes when he passed their still empty offices, but he couldn't be prouder of the direction the firm was heading. He had the privilege of working alongside of the most tenacious, brave, and compassionate people he'd ever met and they were shaping up to be quite the team.

"You know," Louis says after a few minutes of reflection, "I think we're going to be alright."

"Oh so I win a huge settlement last week, but it takes Katrina negotiating a merger for you to realize we'll be okay without Harvey and Donna?" Alex teases, which makes Samantha laugh and Louis roll his eyes.

"No, what I'm saying is it's been a hectic month and yet, we've _all_ done great work," he explains, "and it's the three of you that have really made that possible," he says.

"To us, then," Samantha says sincerely, raising her glass and returning Louis' smile.

* * *

Rachel's ringtone interrupts Mike mid-sentence and she excuses herself to answer the call, explaining it was one of the associates at the firm. Harvey excuses himself to the restroom while Rachel is still out on the phone, leaving Mike and Donna to themselves at the table.

"Well?" Mike cocks his head as he stares across the table at Donna.

"Well what?" she asks, pausing to take a long sip of her drink.

"How has the first week been?"

"It's no Manhattan that's for sure, but we missed you two. And I've never seen Harvey so excited after such a straightforward case. It reminded me of our days back in the DA's office, when he would get such a high after winning even the simplest case," she reminisces and Mike's gaze falls on her expanding smile.

"Having you two here, together, it's almost surreal," he says.

"Oh?"

"You know we've been rooting for you guys for a while, I guess it's just nice to see how well you guys work together, and I don't mean at the office. You know, when Rachel and I first considered moving out here, you two were one of the main reasons we considered staying in Manhattan. You guys are family Donna. Being here like this, grabbing dinner with the four of us…"

"It feels like coming home," she finishes for him.

"Exactly," he grins, leaning back against his seat as Rachel rejoined them.

"What'd I miss?" she asks.

"I was just about to tell Donna about how I thought she and Harvey were married when he first hired me," he smirks, the beginning of his story perfectly timed with Harvey's return to table.

"You what?" he asks, sliding into the seat beside Donna and immediately searching for her hand.

"Come on! You two have to admit that you acted like an old married couple!"

"If we acted like an old married couple back then, what does that make us now?"

"An ancient married couple?" Mike snickers and is met with a playful swat in the arm from Rachel.

"His jokes never get better do they?" Harvey asks Rachel who's doing her best to hold back a laugh.

"You missed this."

"You have no proof."

"Your wife told me that you enjoyed our case together," Mike fires back and Harvey looks to Donna who refuses to look him in the eye.

"God, this is going to be fun, the whole band back together again. Working to make the world a better place," Mike says.

"You sound like a cheesy greeting card," Harvey replies, the entire table no longer able to contain their laughter.

"Risking Harvey making another smart ass remark about me, I'd like to propose a toast," Mike says, raising his glass and waiting for the others to follow.

"To family and new beginnings," he says, clinking his glass against first Rachel's, followed by Donna's and then Harvey's.

"To family," they echo as Harvey gives Donna's free hand a gentle squeeze beneath the table where their fingers were still interlocked.

To family, he thinks to himself. And one hell of a new beginning.

* * *

Stay tuned for our next chapter:

**9x12 - Power**

_Donna struggles to make a name for herself in her new position at the firm. Harvey assists his former associate Rachel on a case against a former client of his._


	2. Chapter 2

**Suits**

**9x12**

**"Power"**

**A Season 9 Story**

**Written by darveyscactus and CatsBalletHarveySpecter**

* * *

"Of course it's sunny today after raining all weekend," she replies with a laugh as the elevator doors open and she struts through the lobby of the firm. She's on the phone, catching up with her mom and filling her in on her plans for their new apartment.

Today she's feeling particularly confident wrapped in a snug emerald green dress and nude pumps, curls cascading over her shoulders and down her back. It had taken her a few days to figure out the lay of the land, but as her second week began she felt like she was starting to understand the dynamics of her new firm and she was ready to get to work.

She continues her conversation with her mom as she walks down the halls towards her office, offering warm smiles and waves to the few associates she passes.

"Yeah, the apartment is great," she says, tossing a smile to Monica, the firm's receptionist who was filling in as her secretary until she hired her own, but Monica and Heather, the young associate she was chatting with, quickly divert their gaze.

"There's these huge windows in the living room that let in a ton of natural light, you'd love it," Donna continues, turning the corner where she finds two associates engaged in conversation fall silent when they notice her.

"That would be great mom," she says, wandering into her office, "maybe you can plan a visit in a few months once we're a bit more settled?"

"Alright, talk to you soon," she continues, pulling out her desk chair and sitting down, "love you too."

She lets out a long exhale as she slips her phone into her bag and pulls out a few files she'd brought home over the weekend. The bag she'd been using since starting at the firm was one Harvey had "purchased" for her several years before as a Christmas gift, even though the first time he actually noticed it was when they were packing up her apartment for the move. She'd been surprised by a lot of things since they'd gotten together, but one of her favorite discoveries was how thoughtful a gift giver he really was - something she was reminded of every time she glanced down at the framed business cards on her desk.

_See the money wanna stay_

_For your meal_

_Get another piece of pie_

_For your wife_

_Everybody wanna know_

_How it feel_

_Everybody wanna see_

_What it's like_

_I'll even eat a bean pie_

_I don't mind_

_Me and Missy is so early busy busy makin' money_

_Alright_

_All step back, I'm 'bout to dance_

_The greenback boogie_

"Hey Harvey, you catch the game last night?" Dennis, an associate who'd helped Harvey on his case against Pacific Plastics, asks as he passes him in the hallway. Ahead of their move, Harvey had been worried he wouldn't be able to connect with his new coworkers, but now that he was here he was surprised at how naturally it was happening.

"Just the end," Harvey replies.

"That's all that matters, right?" Dennis says and Harvey nods in reply, "Hey," he continues, "my brother's company has a suite at the stadium, so if you ever want to catch a game live, let me know and I can hook you up."

"Thanks," Harvey says as he steps into his office, thinking that a game would be a fun afternoon for Marcus and his kids if they visit over the summer.

* * *

Donna is reviewing her calendar for the week when she feels eyes on her. She looks up to see a tall, lanky associate she hasn't yet met hovering in the doorway.

"Can I help you?" Donna asks warmly, gesturing for the girl to come in.

"Rachel asked me to give you these forms to sign," she says unenthusiastically as she approaches Donna's desk.

"Sure thing," Donna replies as the associate places the files in her outstretched hand.

"What's your name?" she asks as she picks up her four color Bic pen and starts making her way through the documents. Despite her openness she was having trouble making connections with her new colleagues. It was something that usually came easily to her, so she wanted to spend time this week getting to know the associates.

"Alexa," she replies quickly, tapping her foot impatiently.

"And how long have you been here?"

"Six months," Alexa says, "I started right after I graduated from Stanford," boastfully emphasizing the name of the school.

"And let me guess," Donna says, looking up from the documents to make eye contact, "you think its a waste of your time and talent to be bringing me this paperwork?"

"I -," she pauses, taken aback by Donna's remark, "what?"

"I'm Donna," she replies, as if the name alone is an answer to the question, "I can read people."

"We have support staff for a reason," she huffs, taking the signed paperwork from Donna and turning out of the office.

* * *

After witnessing the strange behavior of the associates in the lobby, and her less than pleasant interaction with Alexa, Donna marches into Rachel's office, not bothering to knock, instead sailing straight through the door and towards her friend's desk.

"Do I have something in my teeth?" she asks Rachel, her tone slightly aggressive.

"What?" Rachel asks, staring up from the paperwork in her hand to find Donna hovering over her.

"Is there something I missed when I was getting ready this morning?" she gestures to her dress and heels with both of her hands.

"Donna," Rachel pauses, studying her friend's expression and trying to figure out where her outburst was coming from, "what?"

"I've been here for less than thirty minutes today and already I've had two different groups of associates practically run away at the sight of me, and then I just met Alexa, who acted like merely interacting with me was capital punishment," she says with a huff, sinking into one of the chairs opposite Rachel's desk.

Rachel pauses before she responds, having an idea of what Donna was referring to. A few days prior she'd run into Monica and Christina, one of the senior associates, in the file room and they were giggling about something until they spotted her behind them and immediately fell silent. What the pair didn't know was that she happened to overhear their conversation - Monica was telling Christina about the business cards she'd seen on Donna's desk and all that she'd learned about her professional trajectory from a quick Google search. From what Rachel had heard, both Monica and Christina seemed to think that because the firm had never had a COO before, Mike and Rachel had only hired Donna because they wanted Harvey, and knew he wouldn't come without her. In the moment, Rachel hadn't thought anything of the conversation because she knew that Monica and Christina loved to gossip, but their outlandish theories usually never went farther than the two of them. She was surprised, and a bit disappointed, that this gossip was spreading amongst the associates.

Rachel leans back in her chair and lets out a long exhale, trying to find the words to tell Donna something she definitely didn't want to hear.

"What is it?" Donna asks.

"Hmm?" Rachel asks, pretending to be clueless.

"Rachel, what are you not telling me?" Donna presses as Rachel's eyes dart around the room avoiding her gaze.

"Okay," she starts, letting out another breath, "but first, just remember that you've only been here a week, and with the exception of Mike and me, no one here knows you."

"_Rachel_," Donna says again, trying to draw a confession out of her.

"Monica," Rachel pauses, a last ditch effort to get out of confessing the inevitable, "she saw your old business cards on your desk, and Googled you, and she told her friend Christina and the two of them are such big gossips that -"

"That now none of the associates believe I deserve my job," Donna finishes, cutting Rachel off, her face falling as she speaks.

"Donna," Rachel says sympathetically.

She doesn't respond immediately but from the way she sharply inhales and shifts her gaze to the ceiling, Rachel can tell that she's hurt, and a little bit annoyed, by the news.

"You know," Donna says after a few moments of quiet, "I _really_ thought we were over this," she admits, shaking her head and cracking a half hearted smile.

She hated this, she absolutely hated this, and while she pursed her lips together to keep from crying, she was fighting her desire to scream in frustration. She's no stranger to this feeling - she's been dealing with it practically her entire career - and she'd gotten really good at ignoring it for the most part. She'd let lewd comments about her and Harvey's relationship roll off her back because she knew they were being thrown at her just to get a rise out of her, but she still struggled to shake the feelings that came up when people questioned her position and professional abilities.

"Maybe I'm naïve, but I really thought Harvey and I being married would put an end to this," she admits, and Rachel casts her another sympathetic gaze.

"And you know what the worst part may be," she continues, "it's always the women who hold it against me. Sure, there's always going to be someone like Tanner or Malik making vulgar insinuations, but they say those things because they know the comments get under our skin. Truthfully, they couldn't care less. But women," she pauses to take a deep breath, "they do one Google search, make a snap judgement, and refuse to change their minds about you."

"Donna," Rachel starts again, speaking slowly because she's still not quite sure what her friend needs from her at the moment. She knows from their frequent wine nights back in New York that this is something that has followed Donna throughout her career and affected her in varying degrees over the years but she, like Donna, thought that the rumors would go away now that the couple were together and living in a new city. "I can't pretend I know what this feels like," she admits, "but do you want me to talk to them? We've talked to Monica before about gossiping so -"

"No Rach," Donna interrupts her, "I really appreciate that, but I think I need to handle this one on my own."

"I understand," Rachel says, "but if you ever need to bitch about it over a glass of wine, you know who to call," she adds, which makes Donna smile as she turns to go.

"Oh and Donna?" Rachel calls, making Donna turn around, "you should let Harvey know how you're feeling," she says. She admired Donna and Harvey's commitment to strengthening communication within their relationship, even if they both needed a reminder to break old habits from time to time.

Donna doesn't reply, but gives Rachel a grateful smile before turning down the hall and wandering back to her own office.

* * *

"Hey," Rachel's voice fills Harvey's office as she sees herself in and takes a seat opposite him. He's hunched over a stack of papers when she strolls in and it takes him a moment to look up and acknowledge her presence.

"Are you busy?" she adds, her tone impatient.

"Depends," he replies hesitantly, peering over the form in his hand to look at her.

"Mike was supposed to come with me to meet with a client but something came up with that deal he's been trying to close. Care to join me?"

"Who's the client?"

"Lola Jensen."

"Like, Jerome Jenson's daughter?_ That_ Lola Jenson?" he asks, emphasizing her name.

"Do you know another one?"

"She's a client here?"

"She is. She moved out here after she graduated and she looked Mike up."

"What does she…" he begins to ask but Rachel beats him to the punch and begins to explain the company that Lola owns. After graduating from the Biology program at Columbia, she'd gone on to get a post-graduate degree in computer science and since graduating she'd begun her own kid's camp that focused on teaching young girls about the STEM field.

"Why would she look up someone she knew was a fraud?" Harvey wonders aloud.

"She said that she knew how passionate he was about the law back then and she wanted someone like that to represent her company."

"Same old Lola Jenson," Harvey muses, turning his pen over in his palm as he spoke.

"We are who we are, right? Anyways, her company is missing a few million dollars and she has reason to believe that one of the investors is responsible so we're supposed to go and meet her in twenty minutes to go over a few things before she files a suit against the investor. Are you in?"

"I guess so," he replies, getting up from his desk and buttoning up his suit jacket and following Rachel towards the elevators.

Rachel had always had a tenacity about her that stood out, and even the way she spoke today, the way she marched into his office and demanded an answer to whether or not he was going to be joining her, it was the exact thing that set her apart and made her a great lawyer. She continues to fill him in on the shady investor Lola wanted to take to court and what the plan she and Mike proposed was as they waited for the elevator.

The company was only a few blocks away so they'd opted to walk, stopping to grab coffee from the kiosk outside of the office before venturing through the downtown streets, enjoying a rare sunny Seattle day. Rachel asks about how the new apartment decorating is coming along and Harvey answers, despite knowing his wife had likely already informed Rachel on the decorating status of their apartment. He and Rachel rarely spent time together without their spouses present but he found the conversation flowing freely and before he knew it they were standing outside an old brick building with a sign that read, "The Sisters of STEM."

"Harvey Specter! No-freakin-way. I heard you stepped back from corporate law but I said I'd never believe it until I saw it," a tall dark haired woman smirks as she opens the door for Harvey and Rachel, motioning for them to come inside.

"Now you've seen it," he smirks.

"What made you decide to stop working for vipers like my dad?"

"I guess my heart just wasn't in it anymore, there are more important things in life," he replies, running his left hand through his shaggy hair; which Rachel had noticed was no longer gelled back in place like it always had been in Manhattan.

"I can see that," Lola smirks, stealing a glance at his wedding ring.

"Shall we?" she asks, gesturing towards a large table inside one of the science labs.

The trio spends the afternoon looking over bank statements for Lola's company, trying to come up with the best way to go after the investor that had clearly been embezzling money. In the end, they settle on an old strategy that Louis had come up with back when he and Harvey were still associates and Lola thanks both him and Rachel for their help.

Rachel warns Lola that this guy likely wouldn't go down without a fight and that the case might go to trial but Lola only appears to care about proving he was guilty. They file the suit against Malcom Kneledge and Harvey finds himself enjoying working with Rachel on the case; a case in which the outcome would make a huge difference to the kids enrolled at Lola's camp.

He'd always been a top notch lawyer, but a few weeks into this new role and he was beginning to see what the kid was always going on about. Maybe a small win for the good guys was better than a big win for the bad guys. At least, that was what he was making of his experiences thus far.

Rachel catches him smiling to himself as they make their way back to the office together and she can't help but chuckle and shake her head.

"What?" he asks, staring back at her with uncertainty.

"Nothing it's just, it's nice to see you care about the cause," she replies.

"Yeah well, those kids deserve the best, they should get the best. And that includes us proving this guy is guilty so they have enough funding to continue running next year."

"My gosh, Harvey Specter cares, I never thought I would see the day."

"First Mike, now you. Are the jokes ever going to stop or am I going to have to move back to Manhattan?"

"We both know Donna wouldn't let you. Besides, I'm sure the fun of making them will wear off, _eventually_," she snickers, stepping in front of Harvey onto the elevator back at the firm.

* * *

Harvey rides the elevator up to their apartment with a smile on his face. His meeting with Lola had run later than anticipated so he hadn't gotten a chance to see Donna before she left for her yoga class. He was excited to tell her all about his day with Lola, knowing she'd appreciate the blast from the past.

He walks through the front door, placing his keys on the counter and when he doesn't immediately see her in the kitchen or living room he wanders into the study.

He finds her curled up in the corner of the couch, feet pulled under her with her laptop on her lap, still dressed from yoga with her hair pulled up into a high ponytail. She doesn't turn when he enters the room so she's clearly focused on whatever's on her computer screen. As he approaches her from behind he sees that she's looking at bookcases and his smile widens. They'd agreed that a tall bookcase was the last item needed for the living room, but she'd rejected all of his suggestions, saying they had the wrong vibe - not that she'd ever clued him in on the 'right' vibe.

"Hey you," he says, bending down to place a quick kiss on her head.

"Hmm," she replies, turning to face him, surprised by his presence.

"How was your day?" he asks, resting his elbows on the back of the couch so his face was level with hers.

"Oh it was fine," she quickly dismisses, not wanting to relive the uncomfortableness of the morning just yet, "but I think I finally found a yoga instructor I like," she says, offering him a small smile.

"I started a new case with Rachel today," he says, rounding the couch so he's sitting beside her, "you'll never guess who the client is," he offers, hoping to engage her in conversation. He can tell from how quiet she is that something's weighing on her mind.

"Hmm," she says again, adjusting her position on the couch to make room for him, her knees falling to rest on his thigh.

"Lola Jensen," he says, cracking a smile.

"Lola Jensen, like Lola Jensen who hacked Mike's name into the Bar Lola Jensen?" she asked, suddenly interested in hearing what he'd been up to all day.

"One and the same," he confirms, returning her smile as an idea forms in his mind.

"Tell you what," he says, standing up and offering his hand to help her do the same, "I'm going to make you spaghetti bolognese and then I'll tell you all about it."

* * *

"My god that smells amazing," Mike calls as he joins Rachel in the kitchen where she was putting the final touches on their dinner.

"You're right on time," she smiles into a kiss before returning her attention to the saucepan in front of her.

"How was your case with Harvey today?" he asks as he retrieves a few plates from the cupboard and begins to set the table.

"Actually, it went really well. He and Lola got along and I think we have a strategy on how to handle her case."

"I bet he was surprised to see her," Mike jokes.

"He was. But shockingly that wasn't the most surprising thing I witnessed today…" Rachel trails off before finishing her sentence, filling both plates with noodles.

"Oh?"

"It's just… Donna overheard some of the associates… talking about her and Harvey…"

Mike stares blankly at his wife, waiting for her to continue while she waits for him to catch on to what she's saying.

"OH!" he finally exclaims, picking up on what Rachel was putting down.

"I didn't think that was an issue anymore," he adds.

"I guess some of them have the idea that she was only hired because Harvey was," she explains.

"That's ridiculous, Donna's great at her job."

"You know that and I know that, but people can be awful and well, rumors spread."

"About how she got her position?"

"Amongst other things…"

"You've never had someone say something like that about us, have you?" he asks cautiously.

"No, but we were always more of equals since we became associates around the same time. My dad though… that's another story."

"It should be so black and white, are you good at what you do? Great, keep doing it. Why do people care so much?"

"I wish I knew," she answers with a sad smile.

* * *

"Alright, you were right," she concedes, finishing her last bite of pasta and resting her fork on her plate.

She lets out a breath as she waits for him to respond. She'd spent most of their dinner convincing herself that Rachel was right - that she needed to let Harvey know what was happening at the office, and how she was feeling about it. She was a bit embarrassed that she was so upset over something she thought she'd gotten over. At the back of her mind, she was worried he'd overreact but she knew that Rachel had a point - she needed to let him in, and trust him enough to listen.

"What?" he asks, wine glass stopping midway to his mouth in surprise.

"You could tell that something was bothering me, so you made me my favorite pasta to cheer me up," she says, eyes catching his over the rim of her wine glass.

He doesn't respond immediately, but shakes his head giving her a affectionate, but bewildered smile.

"So, are you going to tell me, or do I need to order you some tiramisu too?" he asks, teasing her gently.

She lets out a long sigh and tilts her head back slightly before speaking. Harvey doesn't know what she's about to say, but he suddenly gets the sense that whatever it is has been weighing on her more than she'd let on.

"It's just," she starts, fingers toying with the stem of her wine glass as she gathers her thoughts, "I overheard a lot of gossip from the associates and support staff about me," she pauses, looking up at him to gauge his reaction. He's looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

"My temporary secretary saw my old business cards on my desk, and told her friends, and they Googled me, and well," she stops for a second to catch her breath, "long story short, they all think I only got hired because Mike and Rachel knew you wouldn't come here without me."

"Donna," he breathes, tilting his head to one side and stretching his hand across the counter to grab hers. "You know, and I know, and Mike and Rachel know, that that couldn't be farther from the truth.

"I know," she admits, "but this is a new firm, and nobody knows me, and it just really bothers me that they've all judged me before I've even had the chance to prove myself," she says.

He pauses to take a breath before responding. He knows this is something that's followed her most of their career, and something that's always bothered her, but he hasn't given it much thought since their first run-in with Malik and the fall out from all of that. He hadn't even considered it'd be an issue here in Seattle, especially now that they were married. He hated the feeling that came when clients and opponents underestimated him, but he knew that came nowhere close to how Donna must feel when people assumed that everything she'd accomplished - everything she's worked so hard for - was handed to her in exchange for sexual favours.

"What do you want me to do?" he asks, sitting up straight and ready to help her through this issue, "tell Mike we need to fire all our junior staff and start fresh?" he offers, while she lets out a halfhearted laugh.

"No," she replies with a breath, "I think I'm going to keep my head down and ignore it."

"Donna," he presses, "they're wrong."

"Not ignore it - that's the wrong word," she clarifies, "I mean, I'm not going to address it directly - I just want to keep doing what I'm doing and hope my work will eventually speak for itself," she says, glancing up at him for approval.

"That's very _Donna_ of you."

"Exactly," she laughs.

"Well, my offer to fire them all still stands, so you just say the word," he says defiantly.

"Okay, hotshot," she quibs, and he rolls his eyes at her.

"Thank you," she says after a moment, the tone of her voice more serious as she brings their empty plates to the sink, Harvey following her with their wine glasses, "for knowing something was wrong, and for listening, and - for not overreacting," she adds, after a second.

"I never overreact," he replies quickly, "you must be thinking of your other husband," teasing her before grabbing her waist and pulling her in for a quick kiss.

* * *

Another morning of rare Seattle sunlight streams through the large windows of their bedroom as Donna wakes. Checking the time on her phone she sees that it's 20 minutes before her alarm goes off, so she rolls over to her other side hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

Just as her eyelids flutter closed she feels Harvey stir beside her, shifting his position so his hand rests on her waist.

"Good morning," he mumbles, eyes still half closed and voice heavy with sleep.

"Good morning to you too," she replies, capturing his lips in a quick kiss and bringing her hand to rest in on his bicep.

"How are you feeling today?" he asks, knowing she'll understand what he means.

"Better," she answers truthfully, "I mean, I'm still annoyed, but I'm going to take it one day at a time."

She takes a deep breath and smiles at him softly. It wasn't in either of their natures, but they were coming to realize that sharing what they were dealing with made them feel better than keeping it all bottled up inside, and each time was a bit easier than the last. They always felt better and more secure afterwards - both in themselves and whatever situation they were dealing with, but also in their relationship. The thoughtfulness and intentionality behind how they were learning to communicate with one another brought them closer, and made their relationship stronger and Donna could sense that they were almost at a place where openly talking about the things bothering them wouldn't require any thought, it'd be second nature.

"You know," she continues, meeting his gaze, "I think we're getting pretty good at this," she says happily.

"Donna," he laughs, "_this_ is something we've always been good at," he says smugly, gesturing to their still naked bodies. Memories of the night before come flooding back to her and she can't help but crack a smile as she rolls her eyes at him.

"That is _not_ what I meant," she replies, giving his chest a playful swat as he raises his eyebrows at her, seeking clarity.

"Communication," she explains, "sharing our feelings, especially the bad ones," she says earnestly as he nods in understanding.

"You know," he smirks at her, capturing her lips in a quick kiss, 'they _do_ say that good behaviour should be rewarded," he says, adjusting their position so that he was on top of her.

* * *

They both have light mornings, so Harvey offers to take her out to breakfast before heading into the office. She jokes that she's only saying yes if the offer comes with a new handbag as she recalls their previous morning trips to Nougatine and Hermes. He rolls his eyes at her, but doesn't say no as he leads her out of their apartment building and around the corner to the breakfast place they'd discovered on their first weekend in the city that was quickly becoming a favorite.

After breakfast, they ask their new driver to drop them off a couple blocks from the office so they can enjoy the last of the sunshine before the rain sets in that afternoon. Donna had always hated walking in Manhattan - the streets were crowded and the ground was coated in who knows what, and the air always felt stale and trapped by the tall buildings. She surprised herself with how much she'd enjoyed walking around downtown Seattle on the rare occasions it wasn't raining.

"If you have time today I'd love for you to look into something on the Lola case for me," he says when they're around the corner from the office.

"Yeah of course," she answers quickly, before taking a breath and thinking more on his request. "Are you sure you aren't just asking me because of what we talked about last night?" she asks hesitantly. She hates that she's questioning his motives given how he'd reassured her, but she couldn't help the little bit of self doubt that bubbled to the surface.

"Donna," he says, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and tugging on her hand so she turns to face him, her eyes looking up at him expectantly.

"I have relied on you since the minute we started working together," he says sincerely, "because you anticipate my needs, because you understand people, and because I can always count on you to come through. No amount of bottom-feeding water cooler gossip is going to change that."

She doesn't respond but continues to gaze up at him, impressed, not for the first time, by the way he's able to make her feel like everything is going to be okay. Her emotions betray her and she can't help the smile she feels tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"You know that, right?'' he asks, dropping his hand from hers and using his index finger and thumb to lift her chin so her gaze stays fixed on him.

"Thank you," she says sincerely, giving in to his touch as his hand drops from her face and pulls her into his embrace.

* * *

As Harvey makes his way to Rachel's office, he stumbles upon two younger female associates standing beside the main reception desk and he stops just shy of the wall so he's out of sight. He listens as the taller blonde one whispers to the smaller brunette and he resists every urge he has to go flying around the corner to put them in their place.

_"You're stuck working with her all week?"_

_"Yes, I'm going to have to listen to her pretend she's some type of lawyer," the second voice whines._

_"What were Mike and Rachel thinking…"_

He curls his fist into a ball as he listens in on the conversation being had. He was rattled when Donna first told him what had been bothering her, a perfect storm of anger on her behalf and anger at the associates for jumping to conclusions.

Back in Manhattan, when the first set of rumors started circulating, he was taken aback by what he'd heard. Back then it was selfish motive that drove his anger. One thing that he'd always prided himself on was being a good lawyer and the fact that people thought he would promote someone who was undeserving because of his personal feelings had always baffled him. Back then, he liked to think that he was the type of man with integrity, and always assumed people knew he would never jeopardize his company or his clients for personal gain.

He'd since learned that his anger back then was selfish and misdirected.

It never had anything to do with him, not directly anyways. The rumors and the gossip, it was always assuming Donna was the one who had done something immoral to earn her position, and he can't even imagine what she must feel like to have to hear those thoughts time and time again.

Before they were random rumors that had no merit. They weren't even an item, people just made assumptions. Now that they were married he assumed the whispers and the hushed gossip would be put to rest, he almost can't believe she had to go through this again; when she never should have had to have gone through it in the first place. He can't even imagine what Donna must feel like; how demoralizing it must feel to have people assume you hadn't earned your place. He knew that she'd earned everything she'd accomplished, and he hoped she knew but it couldn't be easy to constantly have to fight for recognition.

Preoccupied with his own thoughts, he doesn't see Mike strolling down the hall as he turns to leave and he walks face first into him, angrily muttering as he backs up and straightens up his jacket.

"You alright?" Mike asks, eyeing him curiously.

Harvey's cheeks were flushed and he was visibly angry about something, his fists still clenched at his sides.

"Yeah… no… I'm not sure," he admits.

As if on cue, the two young associates walk past the partners and fall silent as they do, only resuming their giggle fest after passing by and nearing the end of the hall.

"Donna?" Mike asks.

"I want to protect her…"

"But she doesn't want you to," Mike finishes for him and Harvey nods.

"You need to let her fight her own battles here," Mike says, patting Harvey on the shoulder and moving to continue down the hall.

"But Harvey," he calls back over his shoulder.

"Make sure she knows Rachel and I have her back."

"Thanks Mike, I will."

* * *

On the morning of Lola's trial, Harvey heads into the office early to prepare a few things before heading to court. Much like during his first case with Mike, he's excited about this one and it doesn't go unnoticed by Donna that he appears to be enjoying the work he's doing far more than he'd ever enjoyed a corporate case in the past.

For a large part of the week he was convinced the other side would settle but after an agreement failed to be made the judge set the initial court date for the trial and just like that he was about to take his first case to court as a partner at Zane Ross. Though Rachel was still first chair, he was learning a lot from his involvement and he was looking forward to seeing how the case played out in front of the judge.

Just before he's set to meet Rachel, Harvey finds himself hovering in the doorway of Donna's office, watching as she worked.

"You forgot something this morning," he smirks before pulling the hand-held metal item out from behind his back and placing it on her desk.

"No I didn't. I thought maybe we could keep that at home," she replies as she eyes the can opener on her desk.

"I knew it, we're going back to the original ritual, aren't we?" he beams and it takes everything in her not to laugh at his outright boyish excitement.

"Harvey, we're married. We don't need a ritual to do _that_."

"Okay, I'm confused. Are you saying we get rid of our pre-trial ritual?"

"I'm saying we're in a new city and I think we're going to need a new ritual."

"New city. New ritual. I like it. Have any ideas?"

"A few," she smirks, gesturing for him to come closer so she can whisper in his ear.

* * *

"I'll be there soon. Yeah, I'm just dropping some food off for the bosses. Get this, the other day I was walking past the conference room and I overheard that lady who thinks she's the COO trying to give him case advice, like she _actually_ understands the law," he scoffs into the phone, making his way down the hall towards the conference room Mike and Rachel were set up in.

"Anyways man, I'll see you later," the associate says before sliding the phone back into his pocket, nearly walking face first into Mike who was standing in front of the door.

"What was that you were saying about Donna?" he challenges and the younger scrawny associate backs up a few steps before finding the courage to square up to him, shoulders tensing briefly before slinking back as a smug grin spreads across his face. He knows that Donna made Harvey promise not to say anything but after seeing the smug look on the associates face, he can't help himself.

"I'm sorry I don't believe I know a Donna? She must be new?" he grins and Mike has to fight the urge to smack the smug smile off the kid's face.

"Cut the shit, Brad. You've been an associate here for less than a year, if I hear you say, scratch that, if you so much as think a negative thing about Donna, I'll have you fired faster than you can count to three. Got it? And just in case you forget again, Donna is our new COO, and she is better at her job than you could ever hope to be at yours."

"It's actually Bradley," the young blonde associate corrects, purposefully ignoring Mike's comments about Donna and her position at the firm.

"Yeah well, maybe when you learn to treat women with respect I'll bother to learn your name," Mike spits before snatching the bag of takeout from Bradley's hands and leaving him alone in the hall.

* * *

The case is over and won before it even begins and Harvey is amazed at how quickly the judge agrees with Rachel's well thought out argument. Lola excitedly hugs Rachel as soon as the gavel makes contact with the stand and he's relieved they won.

He felt the same rush he always did the moment that gavel came down and a realization washed over him that no matter what the city or type of law, winning a case in a courtroom came with the same kind of high it always did. A high he spent years chasing and one of the things he loved most about being a lawyer. And it felt damn good to be a winning lawyer.

"Thank you," Lola turns and says to him as he's packing up his notes.

"It's just my job," he replies, sealing his briefcase.

"Yeah, well, thanks for being so goddamn good at it," she smiles before turning to leave.

"Lola," he calls after her and she pauses, turning back around to face him.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," he says.

"For what?"

"For helping Mike out back then, I never knew how much I needed him until he wasn't around and you're the one who made that possible, so thank you."

"You're welcome," she smiles, turning on her heel once again and leaving the courtroom.

"That was sweet," Rachel chimes in from over his shoulder and he rolls his eyes and shrugs as if to say it was no big deal.

"Don't you dare tell him I said that," he warns before leading the way out of the courtroom, Rachel trailing behind him doing her best to hide her smirk.

* * *

"Donna, do you have a minute?" a voice calls, and Donna looks up from the screen of her tablet to see Alexa standing in her doorway.

Donna gestures to invite her in, and Alexa enters the office stopping just behind the chairs opposite the desk.

"What can I do for you?" Donna asks, recalling her first conversation with the young associate and keeping her tone of voice level.

"I just," Alexa paused shifting her weight from one foot to another, and Donna could tell that she was nervous about whenever she was planning to say. "I wanted to apologize for my behaviour the first time we met," she says, shifting her eyes downward.

"You don't -" Donna starts, but stops herself before she finishes, realizing that Alexa does owe her an apology, or at least an explanation for her behaviour.

"I do," Alexa says, cutting her off, "I was rude because I heard some gossip and assumed I knew the whole story," she admits.

"I appreciate that," Donna replies, a genuine smile spreading across her face. "Can I ask what changed your mind?"

"I've been working with Rachel this week, and she said that you helped Harvey figure out which banks Lola's investor had been channeling money through," she explains, "that would have taken me all week probably, and you finished it in less than a day."

Donna's smile widens as Alexa explains. She doesn't know if Rachel told Alexa about her work on the case with this outcome in mind, but regardless, she makes a mental note to thank her friend later.

"Well, that's why I'm here," she replies, sinking back into her chair and hoping she doesn't come across too smug.

"I misjudged you, and I'm sorry," Alexa adds.

"Can I give you some advice?" Donna asks, and Alexa nods in response.

"Working at a law firm is as much about who you know as it is about what you know," she starts, "it's all about relationships, and you'll get farther the sooner you learn how to foster them - with the right people," she adds pointedly.

She catches Alexa's gaze and finds her looking back at her expectantly, and Donna can tell she's wondering where this advice is coming from.

"Let me guess," Donna starts to explain, "you heard Monica and Christina chattering about me, and assumed they were right because they seemed so sure of themselves?"

"How -?" Alexa starts, genuinely wondering how Donna knew exactly what had happened without her explaining it.

"I'm Donna," she starts, "part of what makes me so good at my job is that I can read people - I understand how people work, and I've been working in law firms long enough to be able to seperate the brown nosers from the one's willing to put in the work."

"Wow, now I feel like I need to apologize all over again," she lets out a self-deprecating laugh, "I really_ really_ misjudged you."

"Admitting when you've made a mistake is something that takes most lawyers years to figure out - most of them are too arrogant to ever see its value," Donna says, "but the fact that you've mastered it six months into you career lets me know that you're going to be just fine," she finishes, offering her a smile.

Donna could tell that Alexa genuelly regretted falling victim to gossip and the way she'd initially treated Donna. She also saw something in Alexa that reminded her a bit of a young Katrina - incredible intelligence with a relentless desire to succeed and that warmed her up to her, despite their initially rocky start.

"Thank you," Alexa replies, "I really appreciate you giving me a second chance," she says and Donna returns her smile as she turns to go.

"Oh," Alexa says pausing near the door and turning around again, "can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Donna says, intrigued.

"My sister just got laid off from the nonprofit she works for," she explains, "and she's a great secretary so if you're still looking to hire one," she trails off, realizing too late that she may not be in the place to make such a recommendation.

"Is she anything like you?" Donna asks.

"Oh no, she's much nicer," Alexa answers quickly, which makes Donna crack a smile.

"Have her call me."

* * *

After what felt like the world's longest week she finds herself strolling into the elevator of their apartment, hand in hand with her husband.

"What?" she asks, cocking her head as she studies his smirk, elevator doors closing as he presses the button for the twelfth floor.

"Did you _really_ say that to her?"

"What can I say, I used some of my closing skills. I was the best closer in Manhattan after all," she smirks, playfully leaning into his side.

"You don't get to claim best closer," he argues, eyes widening at her implying she was a better closer than him.

"I closed you, didn't I?"

A realization washes over his face and his lips settle into a small but proud grin, his palm gently squeezing hers. In all the years they'd worked together at the firm, he never felt like there was anything he couldn't do. He knows now that she's the reason. She was the reason he worked so hard to be successful, the reason he enjoyed coming in to work and the reason he prided himself on being the best closer in the city. He did it for himself but he did it because she made it all possible. She believed in him every step of the way and in the end, she was there to share the journey with him.

And she had a goddamn point. He'd always considered him showing up at her apartment that night the thing that finally helped them to define themselves as more than friends, but perhaps she'd closed him long before that. She'd had a monopoly on his heart for as long as he could remember and he had to hand it to her, she'd made a man who was once one of New York's most eligible bachelors a boyfriend and a husband all within the same year.

He really had been closed by Donna Paulsen.

And he didn't mind one damn bit.

"I guess you did," he concedes as they step off the elevator and towards the door labelled 1206.

"But best closer is still my title," he adds with a smug little grin. He may have gotten softer with marriage, but his competitive nature was something that was there to stay.

* * *

A short while after dinner, he joins her in the living room as she folds a few throw blankets on the couch. He whistles as he strolls in, only pausing to give her a gentle peck on the cheek before allowing her to resume folding from her place next to the couch.

She listens as he roots around in a box behind her, smirking to herself and wondering what he could possibly be up to. He had that look in his eye when he walked by that told her he was up to something, but she tells herself not to turn around and to let him surprise her with whatever he had in mind. Soon, the room is filled with the soft sounds of a saxophone tune she would recognize anywhere and Harvey's palms settle on her waist from behind, his head settling in the crock of her neck for a moment before his hands cup her hips and spin her to face him.

She lets out a pleasantly surprised gasp as he takes her palm in his and twirls her away from him before her body comes crashing back into his torso and his hands settle on her waist once again as he begins to move them to his father's song. They sway silently for a moment, too caught up in each other's embrace to say anything; instead they dance around the living room, door locked and shades drawn, her hand in his. At this moment; their moment, they're all they need and this was a moment they could call their own.

As the song fades and a jazzier riff replaces the mellow one that had previously filled the room with music, he twirls her outwards once again, causing her to giggle before he catches her in his arms.

"What are we doing?" she chuckles, staring up at him with wide hazel eyes.

"You're dancing with me," he answers.

"We're letting the world just disappear and you're dancing with me," he adds.

"Harvey-"

"No matter what's happening at work, you're always going to come home to your biggest fan," he says, leaning down to place a kiss to her forehead.

"I want you to always remember that."

* * *

"Aaron, can you make copies of these documents and have them on my desk first thing tomorrow?" Katrina asks Aaron, one of the new associates that she's selected to work with her for the week.

"Isn't that what secretaries are for?" he scoffs, staring at the folder she was extending to him.

"Excuse me?"

"I just think that my talents are being wasted by you asking me to make copies," he states with extra sass.

"I'm sorry, and what do you feel your talents would make you better suited for?" she asks, trying to remain calm and be patient.

"Actual legal work," he says before muttering something under his breath.

"What was that?" she asks.

"Look, you may have kissed Louis Litt's ass to get name partner, but I don't have to take orders from you. It's a waste of my time and my talent to have me make copies, and a qualified name partner would know that."

"You're dismissed," she says coldy, glaring at him until he finally decides it's best not to argue and he sees himself out.

She watches as he leaves her office and grabs a hold of the edge of her desk as she steadies her breathing and tries to calm herself down. She'd only been a name partner for a few weeks and so far things had been going great. She'd been rotating the new associates, spending time working with each one and so far, each of them had been eager to learn from her and excited to have the opportunity.

She considers telling Samantha and Louis about what just happened with Aaron, but decides against it. She doesn't want Louis to think she can't handle her own as name partner and she knows Samantha will tell her to woman up and show the kid who he's messing with.

But maybe he had a point? She was new to this, what if Louis only promoted her because he needed someone to help out now that Harvey and Donna were gone? What if she wasn't ready and the associates could tell. Or worse, what if the other partners could tell? She stares at the stack of business cards on her desk and draws in a deep breath.

_Katrina Bennett - Name Partner._

What if she was kidding herself? Did she really have what it took to be a name partner? She wasn't like Harvey and Samantha and she certainly wasn't like Donna. She wasn't confident like that and she certainly didn't know the firm the way Donna had. She sits and contemplates for a while, running through a list of reasons she can do this before her mind inevitably begins to wander to the reasons she couldn't.

She decides not to let one arrogant associate's opinion bother her. After all, he was just some kid who was upset he couldn't have his way and she was Katrina Bennett, her name was spelt out in silver lettering in the lobby, and that _had_ to mean something.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a soft knock and she looks up to find Samantha at the door wearing a large smile.

"Are we still on for drinks?"

"Absolutely, I could use a martini!"

* * *

Leaving Katrina's office, Aaron makes his way back to the bullpen where he settles down in his cubicle just as his phone begins to ring.

"Hey man," he answers, leaning back in his chair while he kicks his feet up on the desk.

"How's life in the big city?" the voice on the other end asks.

"Oh you know, just the boss thinking she knows more than me," he complains about Katrina.

"That's nothing, Mike yelled at me the other day because I was mocking our new _COO_; because apparently we need one of those. Anyways, Morgan looked into her and and you'll never guess who's secretary she used to be…"

* * *

_Stay tuned for..._

**9x13 - The Mentor **

_Mike and Harvey take on a case against a familiar face, Donna and Harvey reminisce about their honeymoon._


	3. Chapter 3

**Suits**

**9x13**

**"The Mentor"**

**A Season 9 Story**

**Written by darveyscactus and CatsBalletHarveySpecter**

* * *

"Where's the Mrs. this morning?" Mike practically sing-songs as he joins Harvey in the staff kitchen where he's pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"She wasn't feeling the greatest, said she'd be coming in a little later," he replies, passing Mike the pot of coffee.

"Everything alright?" Mike asks with a swift raise of his brow.

"Yeah, she said her stomach started acting up after the take-out Thai we had last night. Something about nothing being able to compare to that place in Manhattan. You know, the really shitty place? Anyways she'll be fine, she should be here soon."

They finish fixing their coffees in silence, working around each other as Mike reaches for the cream, Harvey for the small bottle of vanilla that Donna insisted they keep at the office.

"What's on the agenda for you today?" Harvey asks.

"I actually have a deposition scheduled in twenty minutes, a long time client of ours has been sued for wrongful termination."

"Need a hand?" Harvey offers as he and Mike begin to make their way up the hall towards their respective offices.

"Nah, I can handle this one on my own," Mike replies.

"Are you sure? I've got nothing going on this morning," Harvey says. It was a weird feeling, having nothing in his calendar until 11:30 am on a Tuesday.

"Let me help," he adds with a small grin.

"Trust me, you don't want to help with this one, the opposition is tough." Mike says, as they arrive outside his office. He makes his way to his desk and grabs the folders he needs for the meeting and looks up to find Harvey still waiting in his office door, staring at him with pleading eyes.

"Like I can't handle tough," he scoffs.

"Harvey…"

"Come on Mike, I'm a need-to-be-busy kid of guy, help me out here."

Mike pauses and weighs his options before letting out a long resigning sigh and turning his gaze towards Harvey. "Fine, but I warned you that you wouldn't want in on this."

"You mean you warned me that you're selfish and want all the good cases to yourself," Harvey snickers, retrieving the folder from Mike's hand and skimming over the client details.

As they head to the conference room, Mike briefs Harvey on the client, Amy Blackwell, and how her company Blackwell Inc. was being sued for firing a junior staff member, Holly Max. The young girl was claiming her boss fired her wrongfully because she was jealous of her personal relationship with a coworker.

Approaching the conference room, Mike turns to face Harvey and looks him dead in the eye, "last chance to back out and take the morning off."

"Why would I want to…" he begins to protest as the lawyer sitting in a chair across the table, back towards them turns around and smirks across the table at them.

"Harvey," she coos and his face falls.

"Scottie," he fires back with a shit eating grin.

_See the money wanna stay_

_For your meal_

_Get another piece of pie_

_For your wife_

_Everybody wanna know_

_How it feel_

_Everybody wanna see_

_What it's like_

_I'll even eat a bean pie_

_I don't mind_

_Me and Missy is so early busy busy makin' money_

_Alright_

_All step back, I'm 'bout to dance_

_The greenback boogie_

_ [with a special guest appearance by Dana Scott]_

"I heard you moved to Seattle, I almost didn't believe it," Scottie smirks as Mike and Harvey enter the conference room.

"What's so hard to believe?" He fires back.

"Harvey Specter, big time lawyer playing in the minor leagues," she teases.

"Alright if you two are done catching up," Mike interrupts, redirecting the attention towards the clients sitting across from each other at the long conference room table.

"Let's get started, shall we?" He claps, sitting down next to Amy and motioning for Harvey to do the same.

Midway through the deposition filled with quick witted remarks on both Scottie and Harvey's parts, Mike can't help but notice that Scottie's gaze has been redirected to where Harvey had his left hand placed on the table.

Every now and again he watches as her eyes glance down at the ring on his finger and he can't help but notice her eyes widen as a smirk tugs on the corners of her red stained lips. As the deposition comes to an end, Mike sees Amy out, leaving Scottie and Harvey to catch up.

Much like Mike, Harvey has noticed Scottie's glare and knew she was going to address the elephant in the room before leaving. After all, she'd never been one to be humble and he knew she was going to take this opportunity to rub the fact that she was right in his face. In years past, Scottie having bragging rights would have driven him mad but this time, he was grateful she'd been right, it had worked out pretty well for him.

He watches and waits as Mike leaves the room, leaving just the two of them before she turns to face him with a massive I-told-you-so grin plastered across her face.

"You took my advice," she beams, stare once again fixed on his left hand.

"Not in so many words," he says, desperate not to concede immediately (some habits die hard).

"You finally told her," she points out and he can't suppress the grin he'd been fighting ever since Scottie brought up _his wife_.

"I did."

"You got married," she states the obvious, voice slightly over exaggerated.

"We didn't want to waste any more time."

"Oh I didn't know Donna was-"

"She's not," he quickly corrects when he realizes what his prior statement made it seem like, "we didn't want to waste anymore time not being together. I love her, I couldn't wait for her to become my wife."

"Harvey Specter talking about his wife," she muses, picking a pen up off the desk and twirling it through her fingers. "I never thought the day would come."

"You never thought I'd do a lot of things apparently," he points out, referring to her earlier statement about moving away from the city.

"Hmm, you're right. Because I never thought you'd have the balls to tell Donna how you felt and yet…"

"I'm happy for you Harvey. For both of you," she adds, smiling across the table at him.

"Thank you, Scottie."

"Anyways, I should get going."

"Off to tell your client they should take our offer?" He teases.

"Off to tell them they better not," she fires back as she stands and smooths down her pencil skirt.

"Tell Donna I said congratulations will you?" She adds before turning to leave.

"I will, it was nice seeing you Scottie."

"Likewise," she smiles before seeing herself out.

Harvey stays seated at the conference room table until the clicking of her heels fades into the distance and he smiles to himself, thinking that their conversation couldn't have gone better. As surprised as he was to see Scottie in the conference room, he was glad they had a chance to talk. The last time he'd spoken to her was over the phone after Donna convinced him to help her out and she told him if he didn't smarten up and tell Donna how he felt soon, he was going to lose the greatest thing that had ever happened to him.

He didn't know it back then, but she was right. If the entire Thomas situation hadn't snapped him out of the haze he'd been in, one that tricked him into believing he and Donna were better off as friends because risking a romantic relationship was too dangerous, he might have lost her for good. And that was a scenario he never wanted to imagine.

In a weird way he had a Scottie and Thomas to thank for opening his eyes to what he'd been blind to for over a decade. Scottie, because her words played over in his mind, making him question if what he had with Donna was all he ever wanted to have with her; and Thomas because without him being the catalyst it may have taken him months to find the courage to tell her what Scottie helped him realize.

He liked to think that he would have gotten there on his own eventually. That one day he would have woken up and just known that he needed to be with Donna, but he'll forever be grateful for the people who helped him open his eyes; for without them he and his wife wouldn't have just embarked on the adventure of a lifetime with their best friends.

He's lost in thought when Mike pops his head back into the conference room and calls his name.

"Harvey!" Mike calls a second time, "are you coming?"

"Coming," he mumbles as he collects his papers and follows Mike towards his office.

Taking a seat on the couch in Mike's office, he crossed one ankle over the other while the younger lawyer paces near the window, thinking.

"You could have just told me it was Scottie," Harvey says.

"I wasn't sure where you two stood," Mike explains, still pacing the length of his office, something he often did when he was processing information.

"We're good actually. Before we left Manhattan Donna asked me to help her out of a tough spot and we had an understanding."

"An understanding," Mike echoes.

"She was actually the one who told me I should tell Donna how I felt."

Mike stops pacing as the words tumble out of Harvey's mouth and he turns to face him, tossing a deathly penetrating glare in Harvey's direction.

"Oh was she? Funny I remember telling you to tell Donna how you felt at least a hundred times before we moved to Seattle. Hell, I even told you you should take her home on my wedding night! But by all means, Scottie was the one who convinced you, sure, we should thank her. Maybe send her a cute little card?"

"Are you done?"

"Maybe…"

"Does it matter who told me?"

"No," Mike pouts.

"Good, now can we get back to work?"

"Fine. But for the record, if anyone was the wingman when it came to getting you two together, it was me."

"Fine, when _no one_ asks which of my friends suggested I get together with my wife, I'll be sure to tell them it was you, deal?"

"Well you don't have to be such a smart ass. I just want a little credit where credit is due."

"Weren't you the one who suggested Donna kiss me when I was seeing someone else? You know that advice that led to a big fight and me almost losing her?"

"But you didn't."

"I could have."

"Instead you married her, I'm calling that a win."

"Hey Mike," Harvey calls, "shut up."

"Am I interrupting something?" Donna smiles from her place in the doorway of Mike's office.

"Just Mike whining, nothing new," Harvey tells her as he gets up and strolls over to her so he can place a small kiss on her cheek. Office PDA was something they typically shyed away from but after not seeing her all morning he couldn't help himself.

"Can I steal Harvey away for a minute?" She asks Mike, who nods in response.

"I'll bring him right back," she promises, turning in her heel and heading towards her office with Harvey following close behind.

"How are you feeling?" He asks as they make their way down the hall.

"Much better, must have been something I ordered from that Thai place. We should make sure we don't go to that one again, it wasn't very good."

"Donna, your favourite Thai place isn't very good…" he points out and is met with an eye roll. For years he'd been trying to convince her that the place on the Upper East Side that she adored was horrible, and for years she refused to believe he was telling the truth and not just messing with her.

"Donna, I hate to interrupt but could you come help a few of the associates with something downstairs?" Alexa asks, running into the couple in the hall just outside of Donna's office.

"Of course, I'll be right there," she replies. Alexa thanks her and says a quick hello to Harvey, who she calls "Mr. Specter," before blushing and scurrying back towards the elevator she'd just emerged from.

"It never ends does it?" Donna jokes as she steps towards the elevators after the junior associate and she gives Harvey's arm a gentle squeeze as she steps past him.

"You love it," he replies with a coy smile.

"I do," she beams.

"See you tonight for dinner?" He calls after her.

"As long as it's not Thai food," she winks, leaving him alone in the hall as she steps into the elevator.

* * *

"You know, I was convinced I'd seen the last of our late nights at the office when we moved out here, you're proving me wrong," Harvey smirks from his place just inside Donna's office door.

"I could go faster if you helped," she replies with a smirk as she glances down at the remaining pile of documents on her desk.

"Or you could just finish it tomorrow and we could go home?" he suggests, playfully wagging his eyebrows at her as he strides towards her desk and props himself on the edge opposite her.

"Or, I could finish it now with the help of my very patient husband."

He reluctantly gives in with a sigh and reaches for a stack of forms and a pen, still semi-sitting on the edge of her desk.

"You'll never guess who the opposing counsel was on Mike's case this morning," he says, peering over at where she was focused on the forms in her hand.

"Dana Scott," she replies in nearly a whisper, eyes still trained on the pages she was holding.

"How did you…?"

"I just read," she answers before he can finish asking.

"How is she?" Donna asks.

"She seemed to be doing well," he replies, unsure of where Donna and Scottie's relationship stood. The two women had always got along, at least he thought they had but he knew his relationship with Scottie had always bothered Donna more than she let on.

"She was happy for us," he adds with a sly smile.

"You know, back in Manhattan she told me she hoped that one day you would see it," Donna chuckles, mostly to herself.

"Ah, and what makes you think I finally saw this _'it'_?" he teases, sliding slightly closer to her seat so that his knees brushed against the armrest of her chair.

"Harvey, you were carrying a ring around in your pocket," she cocks her head at him, knowing she'd won the argument.

"She told me I should open my eyes, back when you convinced me to help her out," he says.

"She did?"

"She did. I was going to ask if she'd said anything to you, before Thomas showed up and, you know what it doesn't matter. The important thing is I finally opened my eyes and made the smartest decision I've ever made."

"Which was?"

"I made you my wife," he smirks, reaching for her hand and gently drawing circles on the back of her palm.

"I can't argue with that. It's definitely one of your better life choices," she smirks as he slides himself in front of her, his body between hers and the desk.

"And what are some of the others?" he cocks his head, pulling her to her feet, a hand settling on her hip as he leans towards her.

"Well for starters, you planned an incredible honeymoon to Napa."

"Speaking of our honeymoon," he whispers, nipping gently at her earlobe as his hand pulls her body flush against his.

"Harvey," she warns but he cuts her off before she can finish her sentence which he had no doubt would involve the words "we're in the office."

"Everyone's gone home," he practically purrs against her lips, stealing a kiss before whirling them around and backing her against the desk.

"Now, back to our honeymoon. Do you remember that first night?"

* * *

_She's standing on the balcony of the villa that Harvey had rented for the week, looking out at the sunset as cotton candy colors peppered the horizon. She hears shuffling behind her and turns around to see Harvey striding towards her, two glasses of wine in hand._

_"If you're not careful, you're going to become a wino this week," she says with a laugh, accepting her glass from his outstretched hand._

_"I've always liked wine," he retorts, which earns him a knowing look from Donna as she tilts her head in his direction._

_"You drink scotch," she counters._

_"Yes, but _you_ drink wine," he says, and the meaning of his words wash over her and she can't help but smile._

_"You know," she says as she turns to look out at the horizon again, "you have some big shoes to fill for our first anniversary," she feels his presence behind her and leans back into him as she speaks, one of his hands coming to rest loosely across her stomach._

_"Are you finally willing to admit I'm a good gift giver?" he sasses, and he hears her breath catch at his words._

_"Samantha talks," he admits nonchalantly, answering her unasked question._

_"But don't worry," he says after a moment of silence, "I've got plans," he adds, his voice lowering as he drops his chin to rest on her shoulder, whispering in her ear as the hand around her waist grips her tighter and pulls her closer to him._

_She spins herself around so that she's facing him, her arms coming to rest on his shoulders as his hands find their place on the small of her back._

_"If you're not careful, you're going to turn into the perfect husband," she breathes, eyes locked on his before pulling him into a quick kiss._

_"Time to live dangerously then," he replies as his hands move farther down her backside and his lips travel across her jaw and down her neck. She hums in response as her fingers toy with the short strands of hair at the back of his neck._

_Her hands float down his back and around his waist as his find their way under her shirt, the heat of his hands on her bare skin causing Donna to suck in a breath._

_"Harvey," she says, pulling her head back slightly to look at him, one hand resting in the center of his chest, "out here?" she asks, and to Harvey, the question sounds like a challenge._

_"Don't tell me you've never thought about it." he replies quickly, raising his eyebrows at her._

_She can't argue with him because she has thought about it. On those mornings and nights spent in back in New York when the evening glow would cast a golden haze across his apartment or the morning sun streaming through the windows would wake them up before their alarm; there'd been moments where all she wanted to do was drag him onto the balcony and have her way with him for the world to see._

_Now, they're in Napa Valley and the sun is setting on the first night of their honeymoon, the first night of the rest of their lives, really. They're probably in view of some of the other villas at the resort, and people will probably hear them but she doesn't care. She doesn't care who knows, or who sees. Quite frankly, she'd shout it from the mountain tops and kiss him in every crowded room if she could because she's that much in love with the man standing before her._

* * *

She's hesitant at first, he can see it written all over her face but as she begins to think back on that night he can feel the tension slip from her shoulders as he steps between her legs.

Leaning back on her own desk, her palms outstretched and supporting her so that her eyes are levelled with his, she leans up and catches his lips in a searing kiss. She's not sure what's come over her, as she wouldn't normally let things get this far in the office but there's something about the way he's staring at her that has her in a trance. She needs him. In all senses of the word.

Hooking her legs behind his calves, she pulls him closer, an action that causes him to moan into their kiss which only heightens her desire for him. She frees him of his tie and begins to work on the buttons of his shirt as he trails kisses across her cheek and down her neck towards her collarbone. He lets his right hand settle just above the hem of her dress, his left pressed firmly on the small of her back, helping to balance her as her hands travel down his chest beneath the light material of his shirt.

He tries his best to slow things down, to relish in the moment, but he finds he has minimal will power when it comes to Donna, he'd always been a fool willing to play by her rules.

* * *

_"Will you please stop moping," she says with a laugh. They're hand in hand and she's practically dragging him along the walkway._

_"I am _not_ moping," he says defiantly, making her laugh harder._

_"If you'd just admit you're scared, you'd save us all a lot of time," she replies, baiting him._

_"Alright, let's get one thing clear," he says dryly, tugging on her hand and bringing them to a halt in the middle of the path, "I am not afraid. I just don't want to. There's a difference."_

_"Whatever helps you sleep at night, hotshot," she quibs._

_"I just don't understand why there has to be horses involved," he mumbles under his breath as they continue walking._

_"That's part of the experience," Donna explains, "you ride the horses on the trails from one vineyard to another and taste the wines."_

_"Great," he sighs, "we're going to be drunk and we're going to be riding horses."_

_"It's a tasting Harvey," she says. She sounds exasperated, but Harvey can tell she's finding the entire situation amusing, "we're not downing an entire bottle at each location."_

_"Alright but if I die," he counters, "it's your fault."_

_"You're not going to die," she assures him, "but on the off chance that you do, I'll make sure that Louis sues them for every penny they're worth."_

_"You get me," he says, finally cracking a smile._

_He shakes his head as he continues to follow her down the path to the stables. He makes another joke and she laughs out loud, her red hair swirling around her face in the slight breeze. It was his favorite sight in the world - Donna smiling and laughing in that carefree way and he loved that he was the only one who got to see her like this. He knew that he'd follow her anywhere, to certain death even, if it meant getting to see this side of her._

* * *

She dips her head back as a soft sigh escapes her lips, his hands having ventured beneath the soft fabric of her dress, his teeth tugging at her skin before his tongue soothes the area and he works his way back to her lips.

Her fingernails dig into his shoulders as he continues to move his fingers within her, continuously hitting the spot that forces her eyes shut and her head to dip back as she succumbes to the pleasure from his actions. His forehead falls to her shoulder as he works, her breath shortening with each withdrawal of his fingers.

She abruptly reaches for his belt and frees him of it, desperate to increase the friction between them she tugs at the zipper and frees him of his pants and boxers in one swift motion.

They didn't do this. They didn't cross the line and give in to their urges and desires in the office like this. But something about the day, maybe it was Scottie resurfacing, perhaps it stemmed from thinking about their honeymoon, all Donna knew was she was intent on screwing her husband right here on her desk.

* * *

"Hey Rach, I'm -," he pauses, his words catching in his throat as he takes in the sight before him. Their once bare dining room table now covered with bags of baby clothes and toys from various stores.

"I know, I know," Rachel says sheepishly, and Mike turns to find her standing in the archway between the kitchen and dining room.

"Did I miss something?" he asks, half joking.

"Louis sent us this picture of Lucy," she quickly explains, passing him the piece of mail in her hand, "and then I realized that we hadn't sent her a proper gift, so," she pauses, gesturing to the table.

"So you bought her an entire wardrobe," Mike jokes as he cracks a smile.

"I was just going to get her these," Rachel explains, wandering over to the table and pulling a stack of onesies in various shades of pink out of one of the bags. Mike smiles in spite of himself as he notices the little brown bears patched onto the onesies' stomach.

"But then I got talking to a woman in the store," she continues, "and she told me about another store, and before I knew it I couldn't stop. It's all just so cute," she adds, smiling as she pulls a pale yellow plush duck out of another bag and shows it to Mike.

"You do realize it's going to cost a fortune to ship all of this to New York, right?" he teases as he peaks into another bag.

"I mean," Rachel pauses, "we could keep some of it," she adds, casting her gaze towards the table as her voice dips slightly.

Her words make Mike's breath catch in his throat. "You're not," he stops, searching for the right words, "I mean, are you?" he asks, catching her gaze.

"Oh god, no, I'm not," she assures him quickly, understanding from his reaction where his mind went. "I just meant we could save them, for Donna, maybe."

"Is _Donna?_!" Mike nearly gasps.

"No, nobody is pregnant," she says with a breath as she shakes her head, struggling to say what she means.

"It'd be nice to have some of this around, just in case," she continues, gesturing to the table beside them.

"In case of what, may I ask?" he replies, pretty sure he knows where she's going, but he wants to hear her say it.

"You know," she says, willing him to catch her drift and fill in the blanks.

"Do I?" he teases, baiting her.

"Mike," she huffs, but can't help the small laugh that escapes.

"Rachel Zane," he says, taking a step closer to her, "are you telling me you want to have my babies?"

"And what if I am?" she asks, raising her gaze to meet his as they share a smile.

"You know I'm all in," he replies, his hands coming to rest on her hips. "Are you sure? Do you think we're ready?"

"Is anyone ever really_ ready_ to become a parent?" she challenges, "but we finally have the time to figure it out," she continues, "and now we have this big empty _four bedroom house_ to fill," giving him a pointed look as she mentions the number of bedrooms. When they moved the previous summer, they both knew why they'd chosen the house with three bedrooms over the house with two, but they'd never vocalized it until now.

"So," he starts, suddenly at a loss for words.

"So," she replies, taking half a step closer to him.

"We're really doing this?"

"We're really doing this," she confirms, a wide smile spreading across her face.

"Well then, we better get started," he says, tightening his grip around her waist and lifting her off her feet. The action catches her by surprise and she laughs out loud, wrapping one arm around his neck for support.

"Not you though," he says, grabbing the plush duck she's still holding from her hand, "you've got to stay here."

* * *

"Are we interrupting?" Louis says as he stands in the doorway of Katrina's office, his knuckles tapping lightly on the glass. The sound pulls Katrina's focus from the stack of papers in front of her and a wide smile appears on her face as she sees Louis standing in her doorway holding little Lucy.

"No, please! Come in!" She replies excitedly, standing and rounding her desk to greet them.

"What brings you here, Little Miss?" she coos at Lucy, gently tickling the bottom of her foot, and she gurgles in response.

"Sheila has a doctor's appointment and our nanny has the flu," Louis explains, "so this little one gets to hang out with Daddy all day," he gushes, the octave of his voice rising considerably as he speaks to Lucy.

"Louis," Katrina says sincerely, looking up at him, "she's beautiful."

"Thanks, Katrina," he smiles in response, "she's got Sheila's nose, thank god. You should have seen what Esther looked like before our grandma got her plastic surgery for her Bat Mitzvah," he laments, and Katrina can't help but laugh.

"Do you want to hold her?" Louis asks gently, looking from Lucy to Katrina.

"Oh, um," Katrina tenses, thinking back to the last time she held a baby, "I'm not sure I know how," she protests.

"It's easy," Louis says, "fold your arms in front of you and I'll pass her to you," he instructs, and Katrina does as she's told.

"There you go," he continues as he steps closer to her, "now, keep you elbow up so you support her head," he instructs as he places Lucy in her arms, "and make sure your other hand is supporting her back."

Katrina looks down at the little girl in her arms and can't help but smile in response to the wide eyes looking up at her. She begins to sway gently from side to side and Lucy waves her hands in response.

"Can you watch her for a few minutes?" Louis asks, gesturing to the ringing cell phone in his hands, "I've got to take this."

"You go, we're all good here," she replies, more to Lucy than to Louis. As she speaks, she adjusts her hold on her, taking her free hand and moving the onesie bunched up around her neck. As she continues to sway back and forth, Lucy grabs on to her pinky with one of her hands and Katrina swears she sees the hint of a smile.

* * *

A few days after the deposition, Amy calls Mike and asks him to do whatever he can to settle her case as soon as he can, doing whatever it takes. She had a merger offer from a company she'd spent years chasing a partnership with and the wrongful termination suit was now the only thing standing in her way.

Harvey had taken a sudden interest in Amy and her case and offered to take it over from Mike, who'd spent the majority of the week wrapped up in another case with an old family friend of Rachel's. Though he knew Amy wanted the case dismissed quickly and quietly, he was determined not to give in to all of Scottie's demands.

He'd come up with a counter offer to her client's latest suggested offer that he was about to bring over to Scottie's office, and he was pretty proud of what he'd come up with. Not only did it allow Amy's company to save face, but it provided Scottie's client with a new, better, position at a new up and coming company.

After sitting down with Amy, he'd learned that though she was bothered by Holly's personal relationship with a co-worker of theirs, Jimmy, it wasn't the reason she'd been let go. Amy was aware it looked bad, she and Jimmy were close friends before he started seeing Holly, but she assured Harvey that Holly was let go because she was always tardy, never finished projects on time, and she refused to take instructions.

Part of him wondered if he took such a heavy interest in Amy's case because he related to her. She clearly had more feelings for this Jimmy character than she would ever admit but she seemed to value their friendship and her career more than the feelings she harboured.

He knew how she felt. For years he did the same thing with Donna. Pretended his feelings didn't matter because he valued their friendship and working relationship. He knew how hard this must be for Amy, to watch Jimmy slip away. So he spent hours on end trying to win this case for her. He may not be able to help her sort out her feelings but he could at least win this case for her and her company.

Stuffing a few folders into his bag, he sets out for Scottie's office, smile on his face. It was a god damn good day to close a case.

* * *

Humming to herself, Donna continues to add to her stack of copies in the file room. Though she could have had any of the associates copy the files she needed to give Rachel for the case they were working on, she sometimes found that hiding away in the file room for the afternoon was exactly what she needed. It grounded her, took her back to every hour she dedicated to the job that led her to where she was today. She hears the door click shut behind her and continues to work, picking up speed as she moves down her own assembly line; copy, staple, stack.

She catches a glimpse of a navy suit in the corner of her eye and turns, assuming it was Harvey who'd joined her only to find Bradley staring back at her wearing a massive grin.

"Geez, Bradley, you scared me," she says, hand clutching her chest. She wasn't Bradley's biggest fan, after everything that had gone down the past few weeks he'd been actively avoiding her but she knew where he stood. She knew he didn't respect her.

"You know we have people for that, right?" he asks, eyes flicking to the stack of papers beside the copier.

"I prefer to do it myself," she shrugs, turning back to her task.

She draws in a deep breath as soon as she's facing away from him, and tries to convince herself to stay calm. This kid was just trying to get a rise out of her, and she was better than that. After a heart to heart with both Harvey and Rachel, she knew better than to doubt herself because of some childish associates and their need to gossip. She was Donna-freaking-Paulsen, and she was going to show them how unbothered she was by their trouble making.

"Right, old habit I suppose," he laughs and his comment causes her to whirl around.

"_Pardon?_" she challenges, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Nothing nothing. Just an old friend of mine back at your old firm told me you had a talent for making copies, something about being _'Harvey Specter's Secretary'_ that slept her way to the top," he finishes, staring her straight in the eye.

"That firm really does have a _thing_ for giving unqualified women high ranking positions, huh? Donna Paulsen, formerly Harvey Specter's secretary…. Samantha Wheeler, who practically had name partner handed to her because she was as good as a daughter to Robert Zane... Katrina Bennett, she did Louis Litt's dirty work long enough to be rewarded with her name on the wall too… I see a pattern, don't you?"

She's tempted to smack the grin off his face, but she knows better. Instead, she takes another deep breath and gently rolls her shoulders back before forcing a small smile over her lips and stepping towards him.

"Listen here, Brad."

"It's Bradley," he corrects before arrogantly folding his arms over his chest.

"Right, well Brad, I'm going to say this once and you're going to listen; otherwise I might be tempted to march my pretty little unqualified heels upstairs and have you branded as an undesirable associate, and that's not what you want, is it?"

He grows quiet but doesn't back down so she continues with a grin, "No one likes a cocky arrogant associate Brad, do you want to know how I know that? I worked as a secretary to the best closer in the city for a decade. I learned things, I saw things. In your wildest dreams you couldn't conjure up half of the things I've seen. I was promoted to COO because without me that place would have crumbled in fifteen seconds flat. And Harvey had_ nothing_ to do with that. If anything, he was the reason I hadn't been promoted sooner. You want to challenge my credibility again? Go ahead, and I'll show you exactly how good I am at my job by making you unemployable across the country. Get the picture?"

Bradley stares back at her, shocked and slowly nods.

"Great. Glad we've reached an understanding. Now if you don't mind, these copies aren't going to make themselves," she says, flashing him an overly enthusiastic smile before returning to her post by the copier.

"Oh Brad, one more thing," she calls after him and he pauses his attempt at a quick exit.

"Samantha Wheeler and Katrina Bennett are both ten times the lawyer you will _ever_ be. Please tell your buddy Aaron that if he _ever_ pulls something like that with Katrina again, he can join you in your search for a new job."

"How did you-?" he's about to ask how she knew about Aaron when she cuts him off.

"I'm Donna." she smirks, leaving him to wander out of the room more confused than when he entered it.

* * *

He knocks twice on the white office door before Scottie calls him into her office.

"Harvey," she coos, "what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Just thought I'd stop by to personally give you the offer you're going to accept," he smirks, tossing a maroon folder onto her desk.

"I see that you haven't lost that cocky charm."

"Some things never change," he replies, watching as she flips open the folder and begins to skim down the front page.

"Well?"

"I'm impressed. It's almost a win-win."

"But?"

"Who says there's a but?" She says.

"You're forgetting we spent three years of law school together, I know when you're going to throw a 'but' statement in."

"Fine. But, it would have been nice to win, for old times sake."

"What do you say you take that to your client and when she accepts it, because she will, we call it a draw this time?"

"I'm tempted."

"What do you say, do we have a deal?" He extends his hand towards her.

"I guess we do," she says as she shakes his outstretched palm.

"Maybe we should have tried this whole getting along thing a while ago. Both of our clients are walking away with their heads held high," he boasts.

"Oddly enough I don't think it was in the cards for us. But I'll forgive you for not inviting me to the wedding," she smirks, leaning back in her chair.

"Besides, I doubt you came up with that plan all on your own," she adds.

"I might have had some help from this new associate of ours, Alexa," he admits.

"She's a good one, hold on to her, she could be the next_ Harvey Specter_."

"I'll be sure to let Donna know you said that, she's the one who suggested Alexa help out, something about seeing her potential."

"You and I both know Donna has a knack for seeing the good in people."

"That she does," Harvey smiles, thinking back on all the times Donna saw him as a good man, even when he failed to see himself as one.

"Anyways, I should get going, we have dinner plans," he shrugs, buttoning up his suit jacket and making his way towards her office door.

"Sign the deal Scottie, it really is a win for both of us."

"You never fail to surprise me, Harvey Specter."

"It's part of my charm."

"You take good care of her, she's a keeper," Scottie says, offering him a shy smile.

"She sure is," he smiles before seeing himself out.

* * *

Donna is sitting at her desk and staring absentmindedly into the hallway when she notices a petite brunette woman walking by.

"Scottie," she calls and the woman stops in her tracks and turns towards the noise. Donna gestures for her to come in, and she does, taking a seat in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk.

"What brings you here?" she asks, genuinely curious. From what Harvey had told her, they'd reached a settlement agreement the day before, she didn't think there was anything left to be done on the case.

"My client signed the settlement," Scottie explains, gesturing to the folder in her lap, "I wanted to drop it off for Harvey and Mike."

"You know, you could have just messengered it over," Donna challenges.

"I could have," she replies, "but I didn't see you last time I was here, and I wanted to congratulate you in person," she admits, motioning to her wedding rings.

"Scottie," Donna says, letting out a breath, "I appreciate that."

"It was always you, you know," she says, offering Donna a sincere smile.

"Scottie, you don't have to -," she starts.

"And if I'd realized it sooner, I might have saved us all a lot of pain."

"Can I be honest?" she asks, and Donna nods in response,

"I'm just glad we could come out of all of this without either of you hating me," she confesses, her gaze shifting downwards slightly to her hands resting in her lap.

"I never hated you Scottie," she quickly assures, "I just," she pauses, not quite sure how to articulate all the things that Dana Scott had made her feel at one point or another.

"You just wanted what you thought I had," Scottie says, filling in the blanks, and Donna lets out a breath in response, "I get that."

They're silent for a moment, letting those last words hang in the air. She meant what she'd said, she'd never hated her. She hated the way she got under Harvey's skin and toyed with her emotions. She hated the fact that she was the only woman in the world that truly brought out her jealous side. But she never hated _her_. Harvey respected her far too much to let herself go there.

"I was surprised to hear you and Thomas Kessler broke up, when I heard about it I thought it was a decent match. Although now I know why," Scottie says finally, shifting the conversation.

"How did you even know?" Donna asks, taken aback by her comment.

"Our secretaries are friends," Scottie explains.

"The secretarial pool_ is_ the best source of gossip in the city," Donna says, a knowing smile spread across her face, "I would know."

"Have you met Thomas?" she asks, a thought forming in her mind.

"A few times actually," she says, "he and my ex went to Wharton together so we ran into each other at the occasional happy hour."

"Your ex?" Donna asks, intrigued.

"He got a job offer in London and when he asked me to move with him, I realized he wasn't the person I was supposed to spend my life with," she explains simply.

"You know," Donna says coyly, raising her eyebrows slightly, "now that I think about it, you and Thomas would be a good match."

Before Scottie can even reply, a soft knock on the door draws their attention.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," a voice says, and Donna sees Alexa standing in the doorway holding a large stack of papers, "but one Rachel's clients just dropped these off and she wanted me to make sure they got directly to you," she says, explaining her intrusion.

"Thanks, Alexa," Donna replies, motioning for her to come in and drop the papers on the corner of the desk, "you can let Rachel know I'll go through them before the end of the day"

"Alexa?" Scottie asks, turning towards the young associate, "you helped Harvey on the Blackwell, Inc. case, right?"

"I did, yes," Alexa replies, smiling slightly.

"You did good work," Scottie says matter of factly, "Harvey said you're a first year?"

"I am, yes," she says, and Donna has to admit she's impressed with Scottie's sincere compliment, and she smiles as she sees how much it means to Alexa.

"Well," Scottie says, leaning back in her chair and cracking a smile, "if you ever think about moving to New York, give me a call. My firm could use more women like you."

Alexa falters for a moment as she racks her brain for an adequate response. "Um, thank you, Miss. Scott, I really appreciate that," she finally says.

"Please, call me Scottie," she replies as Alexa nods and scapers out of the room.

"Alright, Scottie, before you poach _all_ of my best associates," Donna says with a laugh as she gestures to the door.

"It was good seeing you, Donna," she says as she stands.

"You too."

"If you ever find yourself back in New York, let me know," she adds, "I think we owe each other a drink."

* * *

"I hear you finally let Dana Scott get the best of you," Mike calls as he saunters into Harvey's office later that evening. "I guess married life really is turning you into a big softie," he teases.

"She did not get the best of me," Harvey insists, leaning forward on his desk, "we came to a mutually beneficial agreement," he says, passing him the folder with the signed settlement deal from Scottie's client.

"The lies we tell ourselves," Mike mutters under his breath, shaking his head.

"What did you just say to me?" Harvey fires back quickly, impressed that Mike used his own words against him.

"Seriously Harvey, this is good work," Mike says after a moment as he flips through the folder.

"Told you I could handle it," he replies smugly, "what do you say to a drink?" he asks, gesturing to the decanter across the room.

"Let's take a rain check," Mike says, tucking the folder under his arm as he stands, "I promised Rachel I'd stop at the pharmacy and pick up a few things for her."

"Oh, is she alright?"

"Yeah she's fine," he quickly assures, "she just asked for some prenatal vitamins," he says sheepishly. A grin spreading across his face as he realizes how excited he was to share this news with Harvey.

"I didn't realize," Harvey says surprised, "I mean, Donna never said -"

"Oh, she's not," Mike cuts him off, "but we've decided to try," he explains.

"Mike," Harvey says sincerely, "that's awesome, I'm happy for you."

He watches as Mike walks down the hallway and he pours himself a drink. He can see it, a little girl or boy with Mike's light blonde hair and Rachel's bright hazel eyes. With his photographic memory, that will no doubt drive Rachel insane, and her work ethic and compassion.

He's not sure when it happens, but about halfway through his glass of scotch his images of a little blonde child morph into a little redhead. A girl, with his eyes and a nose that turns up at the end like Donna's. Stubborn and emotional but with a heart of gold like her mother, and he smiles at the thought. It strikes him then that while he and Donna were on the same page about kids - the look they exchanged when they met Louis' daughter for the first time and the brief conversations that followed conveying everything he was feeling - he realizes that this is the first time he's ever thought about what their children would _be_ like. He's never felt like this before, and he knows it has everything to do with a certain redhead who would one day - hopefully - make him a father.

* * *

_Stay tuned for..._

**9x14**

A home sick Donna makes a trip back to NYC to visit Louis and brings Mike and Rachel with her. Harvey struggles to get along with his coworkers. Donna gets some surprising news while in the city.


	4. Chapter 4

**Suits**

**9x14**

**"Us"**

**A Season 9 Story**

**Written by darveyscactus and CatsBalletHarveySpecter**

* * *

Dressed in a pair of grey sweatpants and an old Havard t-shirt, he watches as Donna paces about the bedroom. With her hair tossed back in a ponytail, sporting a matching oversized Havard shirt, she weaves from the bedroom to the closet and back again. He's supposed to be watching whatever show she'd put on that he promised he would give a chance, but watching her work entices him. It was systemic, she would grab two items from the closet, bring them to the open suitcase laying on the bed before placing one item inside and returning the other. With his focus half on the screen at the foot of the bed, and half on his wife, he almost doesn't hear her when she asks how he's enjoying the episode.

After claiming that he was enjoying it, which he hated to admit that he was, he settles back against the pillows and focuses on the blonde strutting across the screen.

She packs up a few things from the cabinet above the sink and watches him in the mirror as he lounges in their bed. Though she may have fallen for a Harvey that wore a dress shirt and a tie, since moving to Seattle she'd learned that she found her husband sexiest in sweatpants; who knew?! She was leaving for the airport first thing the next morning and had yet to finish packing, but after a long day at the office she managed to convince Harvey that they should order a pizza and spend the evening watching television in bed. Which is exactly what they came home and spent hours doing. After a mild compromise - no yellow tomatoes on the pizza if she got to choose what they watched - their evening seemed to fly by. The new pizza place they'd discovered just up the street was 'decent' according to Harvey, though she found herself still slightly nauseous after her second slice, a result of whatever bug she caught earlier this week, and Harvey seemed to enjoy her choice of show.

Tightening her ponytail, she tucks the last of her personal items into her travel bag and peers at her reflection when Harvey's voice echoes through the bathroom.

"You know, if I had to pick one of these characters to be me, I'd definitely be _Carrie_."

"Please, you are absolutely a Samantha," she calls out from the bathroom, before returning with a bag of toiletries that she places in her open suitcase.

"I beg to differ, if I had to be one I would be Carrie, I can tell she's the type to wait around for the right guy. I like that," he protests from where he's laying on top of the comforter, eyeing Donna as she continues to pack items into her suitcase.

"Please, you wish you were a Carrie," she laughs, folding a pair of lounge pants before tucking them into the nearly filled bag.

"Well, yours is easy, you're definitely a Carrie," he smirks, sitting up further against the headboard.

"Harvey, you've seen two episodes and you think you know who I am? We're literally watching episode two..."

"Who says this is my first time watching?" he says and is met with a swift questioning raise of her eyebrow.

"The movie doesn't count," she points out as he mutters "damnit" beneath his breath.

"Fine, but by time you get back, I'm going to be a well versed pro."

"How long do you think I'm going to be gone?" she chuckles, sealing her suitcase and placing it down next to the bed before climbing in next to him.

"Too long, if you ask me," he pouts, dramatically dropping his head into her lap.

"It's three days Harvey… And you can always come with me."

"Someone has to stay and get work done around here. What, with you three all deciding to head back to Manhattan on the same weekend," he says, lifting his head and raising an arm so she can settle into his side.

"You're just avoiding my dad," she points out as she cuddles further into his side, her leg settling over his.

"I just think it might be nice for you to spend some quality time with him…"

"Mhhmm," she playfully rolls her eyes.

"But I will miss you while you're gone, even if it is only three days," he whispers before leaning in to steal a kiss.

"You're ridiculous," she laughs, hand settling on his chest as he hovers over her.

"And you're not even paying attention!" she shrugs to the screen behind him but his gaze is too focused on her lips to follow.

"And it's a shame because _that_ guy is handsome. Maybe I do want to be a Carrie," she smirks, purposefully trying to push his jealous button.

"I think we're going to have to pause it for now…" he practically purrs before launching himself onto her side of the bed in a dramatic way that causes her to giggle. Hovering over her body, he places a kiss to her forehead and her nose before allowing his lips to crash into hers while his hands begin to greedily paw at the bottom of her shirt. She may only be leaving town for a few days, but he could already tell that the few days without her were going to be the longest days he'd had since she'd become his wife.

_See the money wanna stay_

_For your meal_

_Get another piece of pie_

_For your wife_

_Everybody wanna know_

_How it feel_

_Everybody wanna see_

_What it's like_

_I'll even eat a bean pie_

_I don't mind_

_Me and Missy is so early busy busy makin' money_

_Alright_

_All step back, I'm 'bout to dance_

_The greenback boogie_

[with special guest appearances by: Marcus Specter, Sheila Sazs, Robert Zane, Gretchen Bodinski & Thomas Kessler]

"It's a good thing Harvey didn't listen to you and never rented this place out, huh," Donna says to Mike as he opens the door to his and Rachel's old New York apartment and lets her in.

"You know, you could have stayed with us," Mike says, taking the tray of coffees and bag of pastries out of her hands and leading her into the kitchen, "we have an air mattress."

"Please," Donna replies with a laugh, "you think I'm going to pass up an opportunity to sleep in a king sized without my husband, the starfish," laughing harder as she sees her words making Mike slightly uncomfortable.

"Besides, this," she pauses, gesturing to her meticulously done hair, "doesn't do air mattresses."

"I thought you said Harvey was a cuddler," Rachel says from her place at the kitchen table, passing Donna a plate and one of the pastries she brought as she sits down beside her.

"He's that too," Donna explains, "he needs to be the little spoon to fall asleep, but once he is it's like, bam, starfish time," she says, which makes Rachel laugh and Mike roll his eyes.

"Can we please talk about something else now?" Mike asks dramatically as Rachel playfully swats at him.

"What, doesn't it make you feel better to know that both you and your best friend are little spoons?" she teases.

"So Donna," Mike says loudly, changing the subject and casting a sideways glance at Rachel, "what are your plans for today?"

"My dad's procedure is at noon, so I'm going to head to the hospital and wait with my mom," she explains, "but I should be back in time for dinner with everyone."

"What's he getting done?" Rachel asks.

"My mom explained it over the phone but I didn't quite understand it - some small procedure on his liver, she said," she says, wringing her hands together in her lap as she speaks and Rachel can tell that she's more nervous about it than she's letting on.

"If you wanted to skip dinner and stay with him, everyone would understand," Rachel assures her.

"No, it'd be a good distraction," Donna replies, "besides, I'll be with him most of the day tomorrow."

"Anyways, enough about me," she continues, forcing a smile on her face, "are you seeing your dad today, Rach?"

"Yeah, I'm heading over soon," she says, "I owe him a game of golf because we didn't come back for Thanksgiving last year, so he's cashing in on that today."

"Can I come?' Mike asks, "I would pay money to see you play golf," he teases.

"Don't you have that very important client meeting that couldn't possibly have been done over the phone so we had to fly five hours across the country for a ninety minute meeting today?" she sases.

"It's only ninety minutes," he replies smartly, "I could still make tee time."

"Have a nice day, sweetie," she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm as he collects his things, gives her a quick kiss, and heads out the door.

"Donna," Rachel says once she hears the door click, "are you sure you don't want to cancel our plans for tonight? Katrina and Samantha really would understand."

"No Rach," Donna confirms, "I appreciate it though," she says, pausing to take a breath, "I guess I just didn't realize how nervous I was about everything until I got here. He's never really had health issues before, so I'm just figuring out how to process it all."

"I understand," Rachel says, offering her friend a sincere smile, "and please, if you need anything - and I mean _anything_ \- today, just call me. You know I _hate_ golf," she says, which makes Donna let out a breathy laugh.

* * *

It's late morning and Harvey finds himself strolling through the hallways of the firm, stopping here and there to make small talk with the associates and partners he passes. It isn't until he passes his office for the third time that he realizes he's wandering with no clear destination in mind.

It's his second day at the office without Mike and Rachel and he was surprised by how much he missed their presence. He knew he'd miss Donna, both here and at home, but he was feeling Mike and Rachel's absence in a way he hadn't since the days immediately after they left New York.

He enters his office and takes a seat at his desk to work through some paperwork Mike had left him. Before he left, they'd worked on a merger for two breweries in the area and Mike had tasked him with finalizing the details while he was away. He digs into the paperwork and smiles as he recalls Mike's instructions to "make himself useful," and "not fuck it up."

He's halfway through the stack of paperwork when his mind begins to wander again. He looks out into the hallway and notices for the first time that from sitting at his desk, he can see into both Mike and Rachel's offices with different turns of his head. He can't see into Donna's office because she's right next door but he loves the fact that most days, she's right on the other side of the wall. As he sits staring into the hallway and swiveling back and forth slightly in his chair it dawns on him - that, as much as he loves what he does, his work doesn't mean half as much to him if he can't do it with the people he cares most about.

Deep down, he's known this to some degree for a while, whether or not he's realised. From almost the beginning he knew he couldn't be the type of lawyer he wanted to be without Donna's presence and guiding light. He'd felt it when Jessica left, and then Mike and Rachel, and most recently when Louis told him he'd contemplated leaving the firm and taking a judgeship.

Picking up his phone, he turns it over in his hands a few times before dialing the familiar number, hoping the person on the other end answers and provides some distraction from the very boring financial paperwork Mike had stuck him with.

"Hey loser," the voice on the other end says.

"Who are you calling a loser?" Harvey shoots back.

"What's up, Harvey?" Marcus asks.

"Nothing much," he admits with a breath, "just calling to check in, really."

"It's the middle of the work day, bro," Marcus deadpans, "since when do you call just to check in?"

"It's a slow day here," Harvey attempts to explain, "and Donna and Mike are in New York -"

"And you're bored," Marcus says, cutting him off.

"'I'm not -," he takes a breath and attempts to argue, "alright, you're right," he relents, "I'm bored."

"What's Donna in New York for?"

"Her dad is having some procedure," Harvey explains, "he said it wasn't serious, but I think Donna wanted to see that for herself."

"You know you can't hide from her dad forever," Marcus teases as Harvey lets out an exasperated sigh.

"For the last time," Harvey emphasizes, "I am not avoiding him. We made things right the last time we saw each other," he explains almost defensively.

"Alright, alright, I'm just teasing," Marcus relents, and Harvey scoffs.

"You know," Marcus says after a second, "if you really are as bored as you say you are you could come here for the weekend," he offers. "I know it's a long trip for you now, but Jason has a game this weekend and I know he and Haley would both like to see you."

"You sure?"

"You're always welcome here, you know that."

"Alright, but you better pick me up at the airport," Harvey says, throwing in "loser" for good measure before hanging up and heading home to pack.

* * *

Adjusting her visor, Rachel leans back in her chair and takes a sip of her drink as she looks out over the golf course from their table at the country club. She wasn't one for golf, but the country club lifestyle was one she would never tire of, she'd been joining her father at the club on weekends since she was a girl.

"You look like you belong in that chair," Robert smiles as he rejoins her.

"Almost like you never left," he adds, readjusting his chair so he has a better view of the green.

"Dad," she sighs.

"What, I didn't say anything."

"You know that we miss you guys, but we're happy in Seattle."

"I know, I know. It's just, you have that glow back in your cheeks. The kind that you can only find in good ol Manhattan," he grins.

"Besides, your mother is the one that misses you. I understand that it was the best business decision."

"Right," she smirks, knowing her father was too proud to tell her outright that he missed her (and Mike, he wasn't kidding anyone).

"Mike was talking about us visiting more, what do you think?"

"I think I always liked that man," Robert chuckles, lips settling into a wide smile.

"Maybe you can take him golfing next time?"

"Over my dead body."

* * *

They're three glasses of wine deep when Samantha leans over the table and whispers loud enough so all three women can hear.

"Alright, enough business talk, we want to know what it's like being married to Harvey," she smirks as Katrina eggs her on with a supportive "ooouuu."

"Honestly, nothing has changed," Donna smiles, taking a long sip of her drink.

"Please, marriage changes things. For starters, say goodbye to the honeymoon phase," Katrina chimes in.

"If anything, they've fallen further into the honeymoon phase," Rachel replies on Donna's behalf, "I swear they're like a couple of teenagers sometimes."

"Guess that's what happens when you pine after each other for years," Katrina laughs and it suddenly dawns on Donna that she'd been at the firm long enough to witness the eternal push and pull that was once her non-existent relationship.

"Plus, the sex is better once your married," Samantha brings the conversation back around, "at least that's what I've heard."

All three women turn to glance at Donna, waiting not-so-patiently for her to respond to Samantha's remark.

"She won't tell you, I've tried," Rachel snickers, the alcohol allowing her to step out of her comfort zone.

"Maybe that's because Harvey isn't as good in the bedroom as he is in the courtroom," Samantha teases.

"He's better," Donna replies softly, causing all three heads to swivel in her direction once again.

"Ohhhhh," Katrina squeaks, "Spill Donna!"

"I'm not going into detail but there was this one time, in the conference room…"

* * *

Katrina and Samantha had gone home shortly after Mike had joined them at the bar after he finished dinner with a client a few blocks away. Donna, Mike, and Rachel find themselves at a corner table nursing a nightcap Rachel and Donna could probably do without when the vibrating of Donna's phone on the table pulls her attention.

"HARVEYYY!" she says enthusiastically, answering his incoming Facetime call.

"Are you drunk?" he asks, taking in her surroundings and slightly flushed complexion.

"Yes she is," Mike says matter of factly, chiming in from his place across the table.

"Not," Donna interjects, narrowing her eyes and focusing on Harvey's face through her phone as if to prove her point, "I am not drunk," she protests.

"Whatever you say, dear," he replies, voice thick with sarcasm as Donna playfully sticks out her tongue at him.

"Where are you?" she asks, suddenly noticing that the bed he's sitting on was not the one in their apartment.

"Oh, I'm at Marcus'," he says, as if a spur of the moment flight across the country was the most casual thing in the world.

"You know, if you're missing your wife, I'm not sure your brother is the best option," Mike teases, which earns him a swat to the chest from Rachel, "they have _things_ for that, you know."

"Feel free to leave him behind when you come back," Harvey deadpans.

"What are you doing at Marcus', though?" Donna presses, drawing his attention back to her.

"Jason has a baseball game tomorrow, so Marcus asked if I wanted to come," he explains, "I know it's last minute -"

"That's sweet, Harvey," she says, cutting him off, her words running together slightly so that '_that's sweet'_ sounded more like _'thassweed'._

"You _are_ drunk,' Harvey repeats, amused by what he was seeing.

"Maybe a little bit," she whispers, bringing her phone closer to her face and flashing him a huge grin before dipping the camera down ever so slightly to give him the smallest tease down the front of her dress.

"I miss you," he says sincerely after a moment.

"I miss you too," she replies, "two more days."

"Two more days," he repeats, "I'll call you in the morning, okay?"

"I love you," she says, catching his gaze through the phone and staring at him intently.

"I love you too," he says in that voice reserved just for her that, even with all the alcohol currently flowing through her veins, still makes her stomach flutter and her face flush.

"Love you too!," Mike calls towards the phone just as Donna hangs up.

* * *

Picking up his pace, Louis whistles to himself as he strolls down the block towards the restaurant Donna chose to meet at for lunch. He was having the perfect day; the sun was shining, Sheila and Lucy were on their way to meet him and Donna, and his former protege, Katrina, signed her first major client as a name partner.

Things were looking up at Litt Wheeler Williams Bennett. The new associate pool had plenty of potential even if some of them could be pains in the ass, the senior partners were all stepping up their game, and he and his fellow name partners had never been closer.

He was worried when Donna and Harvey decided to leave the firm, essentially shattering the only family he'd ever cared for, but things were different now. After Lucy was born, he soon realized that the love a family had for each other didn't know any bounds, and distance meant nothing.

Though it was hard to say goodbye, their move to Seattle brought him and Harvey closer than they'd ever been (though he suspects that may have to do with Harvey's reduced fear of being dragged to the mud club). He and Donna chatted on the phone every few weeks where he filled her in on how Sheila and Lucy were doing, and how work was going.

Though he was happy to see Harvey and Donna settle into their new roles with Mike and Rachel so quickly, he missed having them around, hence his excitement for lunch. He begins going over all the things he wants to tell Donna, a new show that was coming to town, that one associate that stole his last bran bar, how well Gretchen was handling him after he'd been up all night with Lucy, when he walks into a man standing at the crosswalk.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbles as he steps back and brushes off the man's jacket.

"Holy shit, Thomas how are you?!" Louis bursts into a grin when he realizes who he stumbled upon.

"Louis, good to see you," Thomas smiles.

"What brings you to this part of town?" He adds.

"Donna's in town, I was just off to meet her for lunch actually," he replies without thinking before pausing and regretting his choice to bring up Donna.

"Sorry I didn't mean-"

"It's alright Louis. Really," Thomas reassures him.

"I heard something about her moving…"

"Ya well after her and Harvey tied the knot I guess they figured a fresh start might be nice," Louis rambles on.

"They got married?"

"You didn't know?" He says, blushing after putting his foot in his mouth for the second time in under a minute.

"I didn't."

"Look Thomas. I know things didn't… we didn't exactly leave things on good terms and I'm sorry. I always really enjoyed working for you and your company."

"Thanks Louis, I appreciate that. I'm sorry it didn't work out better…but you and I, we're still good."

With a smile creeping across his face, Louis playfully nudges Thomas arm before speaking, "does this mean you'll consider coming back?"

"Not a chance."

"But we're still bros?" Louis asks with a hopeful smile.

"We're still good Louis. I'll let you get going, I wouldn't want you to be late for lunch. It was good to see you," he says before offering Louis a small nod and smile and crossing the street in the opposite direction.

"See ya later, bro!" Louis calls after him before continuing on his way to the restaurant.

* * *

After meeting Sheila and Lucy outside the restaurant, the Litts head inside to get settled in their favourite corner booth of Le Bernardin. Donna joins them a few minutes after they're settled and it's all hugs (and tears on Louis' part) before baby Lucy steals her attention away and she finds herself gently rocking Lucy as they order their meals. Louis fills her in on how everything is going at the firm, though she already knows most of the details from their lengthy Sunday night phone calls, but her smile still widens when he tells her how well Katrina was doing as a name partner.

"Donna, you're a natural. Have you two thought about trying?" Louis smiles over at where Donna is beaming down at Lucy, who's cradled in her arms.

"Honestly, we haven't really talked about it."

"Well, no pressure but Harvey's swimmers aren't going to be little Phelp's forever."

"Louis!" Shelia scolds from across the table.

"What?!" He looks between them, wondering what he said wrong.

"I'm just saying, if you guys need any pointers, I can send Harvey the list of things that really worked for us. It all boils down to him being at your beck and call. The minute that you're ovulating—"

"Louis!" Both women cry together.

"Alright fine fine I'll stop. But I'm serious if you guys need any tips I'm happy to help. Harvey helped me once."

"He did?" Donna asks, pretending she was oblivious to the tomato situation.

"Oh it was nothing big, he just gave me some great advice."

"Advice about what?"

"Alright I'll tell you but this stays between us," Louis whispers, leaning towards Donna.

"He told me if I needed any _performance_ help, I should focus on tomatoes."

Doing her best to stifle a laugh, she flashes Louis a smile and leans in to whisper back, "you know Louis, I think he's more of a strawberry man."

"He's a—" Louis begins to question but luckily his question is interrupted by the arrival of their meals.

* * *

Jason's team wins their game easily and afterwards Marcus takes them all to his new restaurant for a late lunch. He'd opened it a few months ago and it had a more casual, family friendly vibe than his first one.

Harvey was enjoying the day and was pleasantly surprised by Jason's team. He knew they were good based on what Marcus had said, but he was impressed by his skills. He's a freshman in high school this year and is getting decent playing time, which Harvey can tell he's excited about. Harvey hated that he didn't have as close a relationship with his niece and nephew as he'd like because of so many years of distance, but he's happy to be spending time with them now.

Sitting at the table waiting for lunch, Jason talks excitedly about the rest of the team's season. They have two games left before playoffs begin, and Jason is saying that the team really wants to make it all the way this year, having lost the state championships in extra innings the season before.

"Do you think you'll get more playing time," Havrey asks just as their food arrives.

"I hope so," Jason says, "I think I did well today. And I really want to pitch on Wednesday's game against East High, so I hope Coach puts me in."

"Yeah, because your _girlfriend_ will be at that game," Haley teases, which earns her a swift kick in the shins under the table from Jason.

"Your what now?" Marcus asks, surprised, Haley's comment turning his attention from his conversation with Bobby.

"She's not my girlfriend," Jason mumbles into his plate, clearly embarrassed that Haley brought it up.

"Not _yet_," Haley says, as Marcus shoots her a warning look. Harvey can tell that whatever is going on with this girl has Jason upset, so he makes a mental note to talk with him about it later, knowing first hand how much of a toll it can take to let feelings fester.

"So Haley," Harvey says, changing the subject, "are you playing softball this year?"

"No, I decided to try lacrosse instead," she says, "but I don't love it. I think I'm just going to stick to tennis."

"Donna loves tennis," he replies, "she's always trying to get me to play with her, but it bothers my shoulder, so I can't."

"Don't go blaming your lack of natural ability on that bum shoulder," Marcus teases.

"Anyways," Harvey continues, ignoring Marcus' comment, "I'm sure she'd love to play with you when you come visit."

"As long as she's okay with losing", she quibs and Harvey smiles, thinking that she and Donna would get along just fine.

* * *

It's late in the afternoon and Harvey wanders out to where Marcus is working in the garage. He takes a seat on one of the stools at the workbench and passes his brother a beer.

"I'm glad I came this weekend," Harvey says after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Me too," Marcus replies, "it's good to see you without -," he pauses, and Harvey knows exactly what he's trying to say.

"I almost forgot, you know - until I saw Bobby at the game without her," Harvey admits, his gaze drifting down to his feet.

"I know what you mean," Marcus says, "it's been a weird few months."

"And Haley and Jason?" Harvey asks, "how are they doing?"

"They're adjusting. I think spending time with Katie and her sister has been good for them - as a distraction," he explains.

"We still have a lot of her things to go through, you know," Marcus says after a moment, "Bobby has been doing a lot, but there's a lot of stuff from when we were kids that he's leaving for us."

"Let's wait a bit," Harvey says after a moment's thought, "I'll bring Donna with me and we can do it together. I think she'd really like seeing all that stuff."

"She really would have loved her, Harvey, you know that right?"

"I do," he says, a sad smile stretching across his face.

* * *

They have a few hours to kill before their flight, so Donna, Rachel, and Mike decide to head to the firm for some last minute goodbyes and a stroll down memory lane. Donna and Rachel are walking down the hallway towards what was once Harvey's office, having promised him a photo, when Donna notices a new occupant in her old office. She tells Rachel she'll meet up with her in a few minutes and knocks on the glass outside the familiar space.

"How long did you wait to move yourself in here," Donna teases as she strolls into the office, taking a seat in one of the chairs across the desk, currently occupied by Katrina.

"Oh well, Louis thought it'd be a good idea for me to be on the same floor as the rest of the name partners," Katrina rambles, "and I needed some good vibes."

"What do you mean?" Donna asks, intrigued.

"Just," Katrina pauses, letting out a sigh and sinking a bit lower in her chair, "this name partner thing - it's _hard_," she admits, which makes Donna laugh.

"Katrina, I don't think you have anything to worry about," Donna assures, "Louis has told me how well you've been doing - signing new clients, closing mergers," she lists.

"I know that, but some of the new associates don't seem to think so," she explains.

"Oh, you mean Aaron?"

"How -," Katrina starts, genuinely curious as to how Donna knew about him.

"I'm dealing with his evil twin in Seattle," she explains, which makes Katrina laugh.

"Trust me," Donna says sincerely, you are more than capable of doing this job - and everything that comes with it. Louis wouldn't have put your name on the wall if you weren't," she assures her.

"Thanks Donna."

"And next time that little shit gives you a problem just think, what would Donna do?" she says, which makes both women laugh.

* * *

Louis spots Mike in his office, picture frame in hand before he enters and he can't help but smile as he struts towards his desk and sees that Mike is holding a picture of baby Lucy.

"She's beautiful isn't she," he beams, a proud father.

"She really is Louis, I can't believe she's all yours."

"Honestly, sometimes I can hardly believe it myself. But then I go home to my girls and I realize that I'm not dreaming, I'm living the dream."

"And you find it manageable? Working here and having a family, I mean," Mike asks, placing the frame back on Louis' desk.

"I do. Something changes when you become a father Mike. It's like, the things that happen here, they don't matter anymore. I go home and I belong to that little girl, and somehow it's manageable and I get to do both. Sheila is a great help, of course. We may both have big careers but we'd cross oceans for that little girl."

"That's good to hear Louis," Mike smiles, shifting in his place.

"Are you guys-?" Louis questions but allows his question to trail off, not wanting to overstep.

"We are," Mike smiles proudly.

"Well I'll be damned, congratulations," he flashes a toothy grin as he pats Mike on the shoulder.

"No congratulations are in order yet," Mike replies.

"But you're trying, and that's a big step. I'm so happy for you guys!" Louis continues to gush.

"Thanks Louis, that means a lot."

"I wish I had something to give you, you know like you gave me way back? Then again, I did already give you my best friend, that'll have to do for now."

"I'm sorry, you gave me what?"

"Harvey, he moved out to Seattle to be with you."

"Let me get this straight, I gave you a onesie because I knew you'd make a great father, and you gave me _Harvey_?!"

"I know, it's hardly fair, but I'll settle for the onesie, even if it's inferior to the gift I gave you. But if you think just because he moved out there I'm giving up the best friend status, you're out of your mind. You're going to be a great father but not _that_ great."

"I'm sorry, how exactly did you _give_ me Harvey?"

"Please, we both know if I'd asked he would have stayed. But I didn't, for you," Louis smiles.

"Riiiight. Well, thanks for the chat Louis, I should go find Rachel," Mike says, excusing himself from Louis' office.

"Mike," Louis calls after him.

"Ya?"

"I meant what I said, you two are going to make wonderful parents."

"Thanks Louis," Mike nods before stepping out of the office.

* * *

As she's leaving Katrina's office she's hit with a wave of nausea that has her running to the bathroom and before she knows it, her head is in the toilet bowl and she's vomiting up her lunch. After taking a moment to collect herself, she heads to the sink to wash her hands and rinse her mouth out. She's staring at her reflection in the mirror willing the redness in her cheeks to go away when a noise behind her catches her by surprise.

"What are you doing in here, Red?"Gretchen asks, her reflection becoming visible in the mirror behind Donna.

"Oh just freshening up before the flight," Donna says casually.

"That sounded like a lot more than freshening up," Gretchen says, gesturing to the bathroom stall and letting Donna know that she heard everything.

"Oh I must have eaten something weird today," she replies dismissively.

"Mmhhhm," Gretchen says with a smirk, and Donna knew that she didn't believe a word of what she was saying.

"Those girls look bigger than the last time I saw you, you know," Gretchen continues, gesturing to Donna's chest.

"What -," Donna attempts, but she's cut off.

"You're pregnant, Red," she says matter-of-factly.

"What? No!" Donna starts to say, but pauses, the words dying in her throat as she realizes that Gretchen may be right.

"Oh my god."

* * *

"Donna what is it?!" Rachel says, entering the bathroom. It's half an hour later and, after Gretchen's bombshell Donna had run across the street and bought three pregnancy tests and a large bottle of water to speed the process along. She'd taken all three and they all told her the same thing; that she was, in fact, pregnant.

"What -," Rachel starts to ask again but stops when she sees the items on the counter.

"Are these yours?" she asks, and Donna nods as she continues to pace the length of the bathroom floor.

"And we're happy about this?" she asks tentatively.

"We are," Donna confirms with a breath as she stops in front of Rachel. "I wasn't sure how I was feeling when I took the test, but when I saw the results I was relieved, so yeah - I'm happy," she says, a smile spreading across her face as she speaks.

"Then congratulations," Rachel says sincerely, pulling her friend in for a hug.

"But oh my god, Rach!' Donna exclaims, bouncing back from her embrace, "all that alcohol I drank last night!"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," she assures her, "but maybe let's give Harriet Specter the next few months off?"

* * *

"Honeeeeyy, I'm home," she calls into the apartment as she tosses her keys into the bowl on the hall table and steps out of her heels.

"In here," she hears him call from the bedroom and her insides immediately begin to flutter.

She and Harvey had spent nights apart since getting married, but this was the first time she was returning home with news that would change their lives. This was the moment she got to tell him he was going to be a father, and she wanted it to be perfect. She'd nervously picked at her fingernails nearly the entire flight back, practicing what she would say over and over in her head.

Each time she went over the well-rehearsed line, her excitement grew. Just thinking about telling Harvey he was going to be a father, that they were going to be parents. She knows they haven't exactly discussed having a family, but from what little conversation they had had, she knew it was something they both wanted in the future, so this was a pleasant surprise.

At the airport, she was tempted to pick up one of those little onesies so she could surprise Harvey, but in the end she decided against it. Telling him their exciting news would be more than enough and she was certain he would be over the moon.

"I missed you," he sighs as he gets up from his place in bed and wraps his arms around her, his chin resting on her head.

"I missed you too," she replies before leaning up on her toes and stealing a kiss.

"Want a hand with your bag?" he asks, gesturing to the suitcase sitting just inside the bedroom door.

"I'll unpack it tomorrow, I've got everything I need for tonight in here," she gestures towards the purse she'd placed at the foot of the bed; the purse that contained a small piece of plastic she was waiting to reveal.

"Perfect, because I've got everything I need, right here," he smirks before wrapping his arms around the waist and twirling them around so that he lands on the bed above her.

Hovering over her, he leans down and steals a kiss, followed by another before he begins to kiss down her exposed neckline.

"Harv-" she begins to say before his palm skirting at the edge of her blouse causes her to forget what she was saying mid sentence.

"I have something to tell you," she whispers.

"I have something to tell you too, I've missed you more than you know," he replies playfully.

"How was everything at the firm?" he asks as he begins to paw at the button on her pants.

"Everyone's doing really well. How was Boston?" she asks.

Pausing what he's doing, he hovers above her face on his elbows and smiles down at her with the Cheshire cat grin that she adored.

"It was good. But those kids were such a handful. Honestly, I loved seeing Marcus but I'm so happy to be back home, just the two of us. No screaming, no bickering, just me and you."

"Right, me and you," she whispers as his lips resume kissing their way down her collarbone.

"There was something you wanted to tell me?" he asks, pausing once again.

"It can wait, right now I just want to make love to my husband."

"Yes ma'am," he nods.

She knows she should just tell him; that his comment about Marcus' kids didn't mean anything, but something inside her prevents her from doing it. What if he didn't want this after all? They'd never really discussed it, not seriously. A sudden panic floods her mind, but it's quickly alleviated as Harvey's hand comes up and caresses her cheek.

"Donna, you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry just a little tired from the flight," she lies.

"Why don't we get some sleep?" he asks as he pulls back the covers and slips beneath them.

She tosses her clothes on the floor next to the bed and crawls beneath the covers, slipping one leg between Harvey's as she presses her back to him and his arms wrap around her slender frame.

"Goodnight Donna, I love you," he whispers as he places a kiss to her shoulder.

"I love you too," she says as she lay there with her eyes wide open.

She would tell him tomorrow. Tomorrow when they woke up, she would tell him he was going to be a father.

* * *

_Stay tuned for..._

**9x15**

Missing the city, Mike contemplates moving the practice. Donna prepares to tell Harvey her news. Samantha and Katrina find themselves at a black tie event desperate to impress a new client.


	5. Chapter 5

**Suits**

**9x15**

**"Here Lies the Law"**

**A Season 9 Story**

**Written by darveyscactus and CatsBalletHarveySpecter**

* * *

Leaning back in her plush leather chair, Katrina grins to herself as she takes in the skyline outside of her new office. It hadn't been an easy journey, getting here, but it was worth every set back and stress-filled moment she faced over the years. When she first joined the firm as an associate, she could only dream that one day she would become a senior partner at the firm. Now here she was a name partner.

_Litt Wheeler Williams Bennett._

She'd come a long way to earn those seven silver letters that hung in the firm lobby. With Louis' guidance and the occasional call made to Donna, she knew she could fill the impossibly large shoes that were left for her to fill. One day at a time, she was facing the uphill battle that was working as a woman in law, and she was kicking ass, if she did say so herself.

Turning back towards the briefs littering her desk, she grabs a pen and signs a few forms as she prepares to call it a night.

"There you are!" Louis cries as he bursts into Katrina's office, face flushed.

"Here I am," she replies back skeptically, "In my office where I usually am. What's going on Louis?"

"I need my black swan," he says beneath his breath.

"What?"

"You heard me. I need my black swan," he repeats with a heavy emphasis on the swan.

"Louis, what on earth are you talking about?"

"Just because you're a name partner now, doesn't mean I don't still need you to do the occasional swanning!"

"I meant, what do you want me to do?" she replies calmly, swirling in her seat at her desk.

"So you'll do it?"

"Maybe if you told me what it was…"

"Oh right," he chuckles lightly, "I thought maybe the partnership had gone to your head and you wouldn't want to… You remember the good old days, yeah?"

"Louis…" she sighs, urging him to get to the point.

"Right. You and Samantha are close right?"

"I don't know if I would call us close," she muses, crossing one leg over the other beneath her desk, "But we've gone for drinks a few times."

"Perfect. I need the two of you to go to this gala tomorrow night and I need you to woo Miranda Priestly."

"I'm sorry, did you just say Miranda Priestly? Like_ Editor-in-Chief of Runway Magazine_ Miranda Priestly?"

"Do you know another one?" he scoffs.

"And you want us to woo her?" she replies, staring back at him with wide eyes.

"I need you two to sign her to the firm. Her former lawyer passed a few days ago, and though I hate to swoop in at a time like this, I need my two best swans to swoop and woo."

"Please, stop saying the word woo," she begs.

"I'll stop if you'll agree to do it."

"Alright Louis, I'm in. But good luck convincing Samantha."

"Convincing Samantha of what?" the blonde calls from the doorway before seeing herself into the office and taking a seat on Katrina's couch.

"I need you to go with Katrina to a gala tomorrow to help her sign a client," Louis explains.

"Why can't she go on her own? She's signed plenty of clients she doesn't need me to hold her hand?"

"Samantha, this client is a big deal. I need both of my best girls working on this. Besides, it'll give you two a chance to spend time together. Get to know each other a bit outside the office."

"It's an office event…" Samantha replies with a slight eye roll.

"I'm in," Katrina replies before blushing and looking down at her desk, "If you are," she adds.

"Alright, I guess I'm in," Samantha replies, offering Katrina a shy smile.

"Great!" Louis beams as he makes his way towards the door, "My black swan and my white swan off to woo our next client."

"What did he just call us?" Samantha asks once Louis is out of earshot.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Katrina laughs.

"It's probably easier if we carpool tomorrow, right?"

"Sure. We could leave from here?" she suggests.

"Or I could have my driver pick you up?" she offers, "let's say 7?"

"7 sounds good. I'll text you my address," Katrina smiles.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow. At 7," Samantha smirks as she exits Katrina's office leaving Katrina to mentally decide on which dress she wanted to wear tomorrow.

_See the money wanna stay_

_For your meal_

_Get another piece of pie_

_For your wife_

_Everybody wanna know_

_How it feel_

_Everybody wanna see_

_What it's like_

_I'll even eat a bean pie_

_I don't mind_

_Me and Missy is so early busy busy makin' money_

_Alright_

_All step back, I'm 'bout to dance_

_The greenback boogie_

Donna is standing at the kitchen island absentmindedly swirling vanilla into her and Harvey's morning coffee. She insisted on making it that morning so she could switch hers out for a decaf, knowing that's something Harvey would notice immediately.

She's lost in her thoughts - thinking about the life altering news she'd received less than twenty four hours ago. When Gretchen had suggested it, she didn't know what to think, but as she paced back and forth across the bathroom at the firm during what had to be the longest five minutes she'd ever experienced, she realized she wanted the test to be positive. And when she finally looked down and saw those two little pink lines, she was relieved - scared as hell, but relieved.

And she'd come home last night so excited to share the news with Harvey, to start planning for their future as a family of three. But that air of excitement quickly evaporated when he'd made that comment about just the two of them. The rational side of her brain knew he probably didn't mean it, that he was just excited to see her again after their days apart. But she couldn't quiet the side of her brain that told her he might mean it. All their talk about kids had been theoretical - what ifs and one days - what if he still wasn't sure if he wanted this for them? Or worse, what if he decided he didn't want kids and hadn't told her because it hadn't come up?

She's so distracted by her internal monologue that she doesn't notice Harvey enter the kitchen until he's standing behind her loosely wrapping his hands around her waist and kissing her temple. She jumps slightly at his touch as he reaches around her and grabs his cup of coffee before taking a seat on the stool next to her.

"So, anything exciting happen on your trip," he asks her casually, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Not really," she replies quickly, before her brain has a chance to catch up with what she's saying.

"And how's your dad?" he asks. She can tell he's trying to engage her in conversation - she's usually the chatty one in the morning, so her quietness is probably weird for him.

"He's fine" she says, "he's the world's worst patient and he's already driving my mom crazy. We're waiting on a few more test results but I think - I hope - he'll be fine," she explains, turning her head so her eyes met his for the first time that morning.

"I'm sorry wasn't there," he says, and it's not a lie. Before Marcus invited him to Boston for the weekend, he was kicking himself for not insisting on going with her. As much as she tried to keep her cool about the whole thing, he can see now that it had worried her more than she let on, and he should have been there for her.

"No one was stopping you," she says, a bit sharper than intended but was this what it was going to be like from now on? She knows he's made an effort in the past, but Harvey and her father will probably never truly see eye to eye and the last thing she wants is a hassle every time they take their child to see her parents. She'd grown up on frequent visits to her grandparents and that's something she wants for her child too.

"Donna -," he starts, taking a breath and not quite sure how to respond.

"Just promise me you won't complain too much if he gets really sick and we have to go back, okay?" she huffs, walking to the other side of the counter to rinse out her now empty coffee cup and place it in the dishwasher.

"You know I would never," he tries to explain, but she's not listening. She's now looking over his shoulder at the bookcase in the living room where the cactus -_ their cactus_ \- sits. Their cactus that is now brown and dry at the bottom.

"Did you forget to water the cactus?" she asks flatly, cutting him off.

"I -," he falters, taken aback by her out of the blue question, "I was in Boston," he says, but given her temperament this morning he's not sure that's a valid excuse.

"It managed to survive a cross country move and yet you're in charge for one weekend and it's on life support," she says.

"I think you're forgetting that I did a pretty good job keeping it alive on my own for a few years," he says lightly, attempting to joke with her.

"If you can't even keep that alive how are you ever going to -," she takes a breath and stops herself before finishing the sentence. His entire existence may be pissing her off right now, but she knows he deserves to hear the news for real, not thrown in his face in the heat of the moment during an argument. And she'll tell him for real, she promises herself, soon.

"How am I ever going to what?" he asks, genuinely curious about how her sentence was supposed to end.

"Forget about it," she says with a huff as she moves around the kitchen collecting her coat, keys, and bag. "I'm going to pilates - I'll see you at the office," tells him as she turns out of the kitchen, leaving him standing, mouth slightly agape, trying to make sense of everything that had just transpired.

"Put your coffee mug in the dishwasher the _correct_ way and water that god damn cactus before you leave," he hears her call from the entryway before the sound of the slamming door echoes through the apartment.

* * *

"Have you talked to Donna today?" Harvey asks as he invites himself into Mike's office and takes a seat in one of the chairs opposite his desk.

"For a few minutes in the kitchen earlier," Mike replies, "Why?"

"She was in a weird mood this morning," Harvey explains, "I think we got into a fight about her dad - and our cactus," he adds after a breath?

"Your cactus?" Mike questions with a raised eyebrow, "you know what, I don't want to know," he says after a beat, dismissively waving his hand as he leans back in his chair.

"She's probably just tired from New York," Mike reasons, "plus, our flight got in late last night, she may be jet lagged."

"You're right," Harvey agrees, "plus we -," he starts, a smirk spreading across her face.

"Stop right there," Mike interrupts, raising his hand.

"What? Can't bear to hear about how much better I am than you?" He challenges, laughing slightly despite himself.

"Get out," Mike deadpans, pointing to the door and holding Harvey's gaze.

"Seriously, Harvey," Mike says after a few seconds, "it's probably nothing, but if she really is upset about something, I'd bet you anything it's got nothing to do with what you were fighting about."

Harvey doesn't respond right away, but takes a minute to think back to their first fight - her outburst about his relationship with her dad that was really about Faye's threat to take away her vote. Mike had a point and he only hoped Donna would let him in soon on what was really upsetting her. He was hesitant to push her, because he didn't want them to have another pointless fight, so he figures the best strategy is to wait it out - give her space to feel her feelings and tell him in her own time.

"Hmm, you may be right," he murmurs, still deep in thought.

"You know, that _has_ been known to happen," Mike quibs as Harvey stands to leave.

* * *

"We're doomed," Donna huffs, taking a seat across from Rachel at the restaurant they'd agreed to meet at for lunch.

"Care to elaborate," Rachel says, shooting her friend a questioning look.

"He killed the cactus, hates my father, and doesn't know how to load a dishwasher," she deadpans.

"He being -," Rachel pauses, trying not to laugh at Donna's statement, "Harvey?"

"Of course Harvey," Donna replies, as if Rachel should have known the answer, "who else would I be talking about?"

"So I take it you haven't told him yet?" she asks as Donna shakes her head.

"And why not?"

"Because he killed the cactus, hates my father, and doesn't know how to load a dishwasher," she repeats.

"Donna," Rachel replies, giving her a pointed look telling her to cut the crap.

"I was going to," she relents with a breath, "l was going to tell him as soon as I got home, but them," she pauses, taking a breath to collect herself, "he said something about being happy it was just the two of us, and I panicked."

"Donna, I'm sure he was just excited to have you home," Rachel attempts to reason, "I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it."

"But what if he really doesn't want this?" Donna asks, "I mean, we haven't had a practical conversation about it, only small hypothetical conversations here and there. And he's said he wants it, but what if he's thought about it more and decided he doesn't?"

"You know," Rachel says calmly, hoping to ease her friend's growing anxiety, "the only way to get those questions answered is to tell him."

"I know, Rach, I know," Donna says as she lets out a defeated sigh, "but we got into a stupid fight this morning, so now I have to deal with that too."

"Let me guess, it involved a cactus, your dad, and the dishwasher?" Rachel asks, which makes Donna crack a halfhearted smile.

"Oh god it sounds ridiculous when you say it like that," she admits with a laugh, "but he asked me about my dad, and then I just got so mad about the fact that they don't get along and I thought ahead to when the baby is born - I don't want him to drag his feet every time we go visit my parents, and then I saw the cactus," she pauses, catching her breath, "I sound insane, don't I?"

"You sound hormonal," Rachel clarifies.

Donna shakes her head and lets out a self deprecating laugh just as a waitress stops by their table to take their orders. Once she's gone, Rachel turns back to Donna to discuss the issue at hand.

"Donna, I know you well enough to know that the longer you wait to tell Harvey, the more you're going to talk yourself into thinking he doesn't want this," she reasons, and Donna knows she's right, the irrational side of her brain is powerful enough without pregnancy hormones thrown into the mix.

"Besides," Rachel continues, a smile spreading across her face, "I need you to tell him soon so I can be excited about this! It's barely been a day and I've already almost let it slip to Mike twice," she says with a laugh.

"You haven't told Mike?" Donna asks, "I thought for sure you would. Could you? And then have him tell Harvey?" she jokes, which makes Rachel roll her eyes.

"It's not my news to tell," Rachel explains, purposefully ignoring Donna's second question, "plus, I know he'd much rather hear it from Harvey or you, and not me."

"And who knows," Rachel continues, taking a bite of her salad that had just arrived, "if all goes according to plan, our kids can grow up together," she says nonchalantly.

"What do you mean 'our kids'?" she asks, shooting Rachel a look.

"We've started trying," Rachel admits, smiling a bit wider as she shared the news.

"Rach!" Donna exclaims, "that's fantastic!"

"And very fun," Rachel adds with a smirk, which makes Donna laugh out loud.

"Promise me you'll tell Harvey about your little bun in the oven tonight," Rachel says after a moment.

"I promise," Donna agrees, "as long as _you_ promise to never call this," she says, gesturing to her not yet visible baby bump, "an oven ever again."

* * *

Wrapping up his final case for the night, Mike tucks a few files into his briefcase and leans back in his home office chair. Having Harvey and Donna at the firm turned out to be a huge game changer and both he and Rachel were enjoying getting to leave before the sun set on weekdays.

Flipping his laptop shut, Mike saunters into the kitchen and wraps his arms around Rachel's waist while planting a kiss on her cheek.

"That smells amazing," he sighs, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"You always say that," she laughs, lifting her spoon out of her sauce pot so he can taste it over her shoulder.

"It always smells amazing," he beams after tasting the sauce.

He steps around her and grabs a few wine glasses and moves to set the table.

"You know what else tastes amazing," she muses, joining him at the table with the pasta.

"What?"

"That chicken from that little place on the corner in Little Italy," she smiles before falling silent and staring off into space.

"Raaach," he calls her attention back to their conversation. "Something on your mind?"

"It's nothing. It's just I was talking with my dad at the golf course and I guess I hadn't realized how much I missed a few things in the city."

"Things like Italian food?" He teases.

"Amongst other things," she laughs.

"I guess I was just feeling sentimental. So many amazing things happened in Manhattan. That's where we met, fell in love. It's where we both passed the bar and started our lives; personal and professional. And I'm just missing it all a little bit extra today."

"You know, the other day I woke up craving those falafel wraps from Tony's," Mike smiles.

"You miss falafel wraps?" She laughs, reaching for the wine bottle and pouring them each a glass.

"And the bagels obviously," he smirks. "Maybe a few other things, too. It was weird being back there. It still felt like home."

"I think it will always be home," she admits with a small smile.

"Rach? What are you getting at?" He asks when he spots the devious look on her face.

She pauses as she studies her husband, contemplating voicing the nagging thought she hadn't been able to rid, despite her efforts. She notices a small twinkle in his eye and a tug at the corner of his lips and she begins to think maybe her idea isn't so far fetched. Perhaps, he was thinking the same thing.

"I think we've both been thinking the same thing. But it's crazy, right?"

"Is it?"

"We can't just pack up and move across the country Mike."

"We did it once," he points out.

"But now we have the practice to think about."

"Exactly," he smirks.

"Mike Ross, you are not _seriously_ suggesting we move our practice back to Manhattan?"

Mike says nothing, taking in a mouthful of food and smiling softly at his wife from across the table.

"We couldn't? Could we?" She wonders out loud, the sudden hopefulness in her voice seeping through.

"I don't see why we couldn't," he adds.

"What about Donna and Harvey?"

"Well I'm not sure they would fit in our suitcases but we could always try."

"Mike!" She cries, reaching across the table to playfully smack him in the arm, "I'm serious!"

"You saw how Donna was when we visited the firm, who's to say they wouldn't want to join us?" He asks. She pauses to think about his suggestion for a moment, knowing that with Donna's pregnancy her friend would probably love to be closer to her family. She doesn't voice the opinion to Mike, worried he may say something to Harvey before Donna has a chance to tell him but she knows her friends wouldn't be opposed to the move.

"What do you say?" He asks.

"I say, we need a pen and paper and the bottle of wine," she says as she grabs the wine bottle off the table and marches towards the living room.

"What are we doing?" He asks as he follows her into the living room. He stares at her with a slightly amused grin for a moment before joining her on the couch and refilling their wine glasses.

"We're making a pro-con list," she explains, drawing a line down the center of the page.

He nods and leans back, waiting for her to get the pen ready. If he'd learned anything over the years it was that Rachel was not one to make a decision without making a list of some sort. Though he knew what their decision would likely end up being, he decides to play along, knowing the conversation will go alot faster and smoother with a list in her hand.

"Pro - Falafel," Mike states proudly.

"That is _not_ going on the list," she laughs as she playfully rolls her eyes in his direction.

"It's a major selling point!" He whines and she concedes, jotting down falafel in the pro column.

"Con - we just got settled here," she says, before adding, "Pro - my family is in the city."

"Is that a pro?" Mike teases before he's met with a pointed glare that says "really."

"Alright, this is going to take a while, pass me that bottle," he says as he gestures towards the wine. Taking a long swig directly from the bottle, he comes up with another pro for the list and passes the bottle to Rachel.

Finding the bottom of the wine bottle, they find themselves sitting in a mess of papers, littered with various pros and cons. Some of the pages strewn about the coffee table are crumbled from the game of trash-can basketball Mike tried to convince Rachel to play, telling her that if more pros ended up in the can they could conclude that the pros won.

Instead of having a productive game, they ended up getting maybe three pieces in the basket before a drunken set of giggles over-took them and they found themselves sitting on the living room floor eyeing the stack of papers that were supposed to help decide their future.

Sighing, Mike leans back against the couch and smiles at his wife, who's folding one of the pages into a paper airplane.

"We're moving to Manhattan, aren't we?"

* * *

Donna gets home after Harvey that night, having opted to join Alexa and some of her fellow associates for drinks and dinner. Part of her knew she'd accepted the invitation in an attempt to prolong the inevitable, but now that she's home she takes a deep breath as she moves through the entryway. After her talk with Rachel, she's ready to apologize for her hormone-driven outburst that morning and, more importantly, tell Harvey their news.

"Harvey?' she calls as she kicks off her heels and tosses her keys and bag on the counter.

"In here," she hears him reply and moves through the apartment to his study, where she sees him sitting at his desk, leaning back in the chair with his feet resting on the desk as he flips through some paperwork.

"Do you have a minute?" she asks, pushing the door open wider and poking her head in.

"Actually I'm kind of busy," he says and she's taken aback by his bluntness.

"I just -," she starts to explain, but he interrupts her.

"Look Donna, I know you're upset about something but I don't want to fight with you, so just let me know when you're ready to clue me in on whatever I did to piss you off, okay?" He says, barely lifting his gaze from the papers in his lap.

Normally, she'd call him out on the spot for talking to her like that, but right now she doesn't have the energy. Maybe it's the lingering jetlag, exhaustion from the day, pregnancy hormones, or a combination of the three, but she closes the door without another word and leaves her husband to his thoughts.

Tomorrow, she thinks, taking a deep breath and swallowing back the tears that were prickling at the corner of her eyes. She'd give him space tonight and tell him tomorrow.

* * *

"To what do I owe this pleasure," Donna says happily, answering her phone and reclining back in her desk chair.

"I need your guy," Katrina says seriously on the other end of the line.

"I'm doing great Katrina, thanks for asking! How are you?" Donna asks, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry," Katrina replies sheepishly, "It's just, Louis is making Samantha and me go to this gala because he wants us to sign Miranda Priestly -"

"_The_ Miranda Priestly?!" Donna interrupts.

"One and the same," Katrina confirms, "which is why I need your dress guy."

"You can't just wear anything," Donna agrees, "something classic, but in season, and not too predictable," she muses.

"Thanks, Donna," Katrina says, smiling into the receiver.

"This is a big deal, Katrina. Louis has wanted to sign Miranda for years," Donna says. "Why now?"

"Her lawyer died," Katrina explains, trying her best to stifle a laugh.

"That is _so_ Louis," Donna replies, laughing with her.

"You're going to be great, Katrina," Donna says after a moment, hoping to reassure her. She was no doubt feeling the pressure from Louis to sign Miranda, but if anyone could rise to the challenge, it was Katrina.

Heeding Donna's advice, Katrina picks up a new Jenny Packham dress from her dress guy on her way home from the office before she heads home to get ready for her evening. She'd only spent time with Samantha outside the office on a few occasions, usually with Donna present and she had an odd nervous feeling that had been eating away at her all afternoon. She eventually chalked it up to the pressure Louis put on her to sign Miranda, but the nervous excitement fluttering in the pit of her stomach when she dialed Donna was certainly unrelated.

She takes a quick shower, giving her legs some extra attention since the dress she selected had a slit that ran up one leg before she finds herself wrapped in a towel, wet hair cascaded over her shoulders at the foot of the bed. She peaks at her phone and clears the notification from Samantha telling her the car will be outside in an hour and she groans while making her way back to the bathroom. A half hour later, with her hair pinned back in loose curls she finds herself in front of the mirror admiring the way her new dress hugged her body. She paints her lips with a pale shade of pink and puckers them before tucking her phone into her clutch and grabbing her wrap.

Satisfied with her look for the evening, she makes her way into the kitchen and pours herself a glass of wine, hoping it will help steady the unjustifiable nerves she'd just be struck with. Downing half the glass of red wine, she begins to wonder what her and Samantha will talk about. They didn't have much in common, aside from the fact that they were both name partners and though they'd gone for drinks a few times, Katrina suddenly can't seem to remember what they talked about. She's saved from her own thoughts when her phone buzzes and she sees a message from Samantha telling her she was downstairs. She quickly finishes the contents of her glass and heads to the door when her phone buzzes in her hand again. She considers ignoring the call but recants when she spots Louis' name flashing across the screen.

"Hey Louis. I'm actually just on my way out the door, is it urgent?" she answers as she steps out into the hall and locks the door behind her.

"I just wanted to make sure you ladies were set for tonight?"

"We're all good Louis, I'm on my way to meet Samantha now," she explains.

"And you two have some sort of plan for signing her?"

"The same one we went over with you this afternoon Louis."

"Repeat it back to me," he demands as she reaches the lobby of her building and begins to make her way outside.

"Louis-"

"Repeat it, I need to make sure we're on the same page," he repeats into the phone.

"I'm not going to repeat it Louis…"

"Katrina, I _need_ you to take this seriously!"

"I've got to go know Louis, Samantha's here," she explains as she approaches the black Lexus parked out front of her building. "Yes, yes Louis she just got here. We're on our way now. Yes, I got it. I know. Alright," she mouths an apology to Samantha as she gets in the car.

A few minutes after pulling away from her apartment she finally hangs up and apologizes, explaining that Louis was just worried about them being able to sign the client.

"You'd think I would be used to Louis being so Louis by now but it still surprises me," Samantha laughs when Katrina finally hangs up the phone. "You look nice by the way."

"You too," Katrina blushes at the compliment, "I love the colour of that dress."

"Ready to get this night over with?" Katrina adds with a nervous chuckle.

"Free food, open bar, who knows, maybe this will turn out to be a fun night."

* * *

They're at the event for about an hour before they see Miranda. There's a noticeable stir when she arrives and Katrina gestures to Samantha to where a small crowd had gathered around her on the other side of the room.

"She's hard to read," Katrina says under her breath, updating Samantha on the intel Donna had given her. "She talks quietly and probably won't say much, but from her, a nod is a good sign."

Before Samantha has a chance to respond, she's cut off by the vibrating of Katrina's phone on the table.

"Sorry, that's Louis again," Katrina mumbles, grabbing the phone.

"What is it Louis? I'm a little busy…" Katrina groans into the phone.

"Have you talked to her yet?"

"Not since I told you I hadn't ten minutes ago," she huffs.

"Well why not?"

She's about to tell him it's because his persistent phone calls kept interrupting but instead opts for a simple, "We're working on it."

"Keep me posted."

"Goodbye Louis," she sighs with a dramatic tone before hanging up and dropping her phone back into her bag.

Samantha keeps her eyes trained on Miranda as she moves across the room. Seeing her alone at the bar, she elbows Katrina in the side and nods in her direction, urging her to hang up on Louis so they can put their plan into action.

* * *

Katrina is at the bar waiting on her martini when she feels her phone begin to vibrate in her clutch. Rolling her eyes, she fishes it out of her bag and slams it down on the bar, waiting for the call to be sent to voicemail. This was the third time within the hour that Louis called to check on her and Samantha and she was sick of the overbearing attitude that was spoiling her evening.

Samantha finds her at the bar and strides up beside her, gesturing for the bartender to bring her a new drink. Her palm accidentally brushes the hand Katrina has laid on the bar and she feels her cheeks flush before she pulls away.

"Having fun?" she asks as she turns to face Katrina just as the phone on the bar begins to rumble again.

"Oh you know, I could be having more fun if Louis would stop calling."

"Still?"

"This is like the fifth time in the past hour."

"I turned my phone off after the third one," Samantha smirks and Katrina's phone begins ringing once again interrupting the conversation.

Before Katrina can silence it, Samantha snatches the phone off the bar and answers the call with a huff. "Louis, I swear to god, you call us one more time and I will chop your balls off and you'll have to explain to Lucy that she's an only child because her father couldn't understand how to keep his nose out of other people's business!"

Giggling, Katrina stares back at Samantha with wide adoring as she hangs up the phone, "I can't believe you just did that!"

"Yeah well, I was sick of that phone interrupting every conversation we had."

"He's going to be so angry-,"

"He can deal with me on Monday," Samantha grins devilishly and Katrina's Louis-related nervousness suddenly vanishes.

"So, before he called for what, like the fourth time? You were telling me about those dance classes you started taking-,"

The evening winds down nicely and after successfully poaching Miranda and having her agree to sign on as a client at _Litt Wheeler Williams Bennett_ the girls find themselves at the bar once again. Katrina contemplates ordering another drink but her yawn makes her wonder if maybe she should call it a night instead.

"Louis aside, I had fun tonight," Katrina smiles shyly over at Samantha.

"Maybe next time we go out we'll actually be alone."

"Ms. Wheeler, are you flirting with me?"

"And how would that make you feel if I am?"

* * *

It'd been two days since she first promised Rachel she'd tell Harvey their news. Two days of the two of them walking around each other on pins and needles at home - him giving her the space he thought she wanted in fear of another outburst and her allowing him time to be mad at her which part of her thought she deserved after the ridiculousness of their initial fight. But she missed him, and deep down she knew it was unfair to keep this from him as long as she had. She had no doubt he was racking his brain trying to figure out what he'd done to upset her when in reality, he hadn't done anything.

Looking down at her phone as she receives another forceful text from Rachel, the third of the evening, she takes a deep breath. She wanted to be excited about being pregnant, and she wanted to be excited with her husband.

She finds him in his study, nursing a scotch and listening to one of his dad's records. She stands in the doorway for a moment and watches him. He's swirling the glass absentmindedly in his hand and he's looking up at the ceiling. His expression is blank, but she can tell he's deep in thought, his mind a million miles away.

"Harvey?" she asks tentatively, the sound of her voice pulling him from his thoughts as he turns his head towards her.

She pushes the door open and takes a seat in the arm chair on the other side of his desk. It felt oddly formal and she'd laugh about it if she wasn't so nervous about what she was going to say. She rings her hands together a few times in her lap before taking a deep breath and diving in.

"I'm sorry," she says, "for picking a fight about my dad, and the cactus, and then being so cold, and I'm sorry for not telling you this right away, but I was nervous and I'm not entirely sure why -," she pauses to catch her breath. She's rambling now and she searches Harvey's face for any indication of the effect her words are having on him, but his expression is unreadable.

"I'm pregnant," she finally says.

The look that appears on his face is one of complete bewilderment. She can tell she's surprised him, but she's not sure if it's a good surprise or a bad surprise. They sit in silence for a few moments as Donna continues to study his expression until she sees a huge grin spread across her face.

"You're smiling," she observes, a smile of her own tugging at the corner of her lips, a wave of relief washing over her entire body.

"Because it's good news," he replies with a laugh, "it is good news, right?" he asks when she doesn't immediately respond.

"Yes," she assures him, "I was just worried you wouldn't think it was."

"And what on earth would make you think that?" he asks, standing up and crossing the room before offering her his hand and pulling her to standing, his hands finding her waist.

"Because when I got back from New York you said you were happy it was just the two of us," she explains, realizing as she speaks how silly it sounds.

"Donna," he breathes, "I didn't mean it like that at all," he assures her, "I missed you and was happy to have you home."

"You're really happy about this?" she asks, looking into his eyes and searching for reassurance.

"I really am," he says, "I've wanted you to have my baby from the moment I saw you holding Lucy for the first time," he admits, reaching up to wipe away a stray tear that had fallen to her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"Harvey," she breathes, taken aback by his words.

"Our kid is going to be the luckiest kid alive because she's going to have you as a mom," he says.

"She?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Or he," Harvey replies with a shrug, "doesn't matter to me."

She's smiling so wide it's starting to hurt her cheeks, but she doesn't care. In the back of her mind she knew she'd feel better when she finally told him, but getting to share her excitement with him has her happier and more relieved than she'd imagined.

She brings her hands that had been resting on his forearms around his neck and, rising to her toes slightly, pulls him into a kiss. She catches him by surprise, but he responds quickly and tightens his grip around her waist.

He's smiling into the kiss, which makes her own smile widen and she wonders what she was nervous about in the first place. She lets out a breathy laugh as they part, her hands finding their favorite place at the back of his neck.

"It's a girl, by the way," she says, laughing as another look of complete shock washes over his face.

"For sure?" he manages to ask.

"No, but I just know," she smirks, and he knows better than to challenge her.

"Plus, you're such a girl dad," she explains, her smile widening at the thought of their little girl convincing him to dress up as a princess or have a tea party. He'll complain, but she knows he'll enjoy every minute of it.

"What if it's twins," he says, widening his eyes and baiting her.

"You stop right there, Mister," she replies, playfully swatting his chest.

"How did this happen though?" he asks after a moment.

"If you need a biology lesson on this I'm not sure I want to raise a child with you," she jokes.

"No, I mean how did this happen for _us_?" he clarifies.

"You know birth control is only like 98% effective, right?" she teases.

"So what I'm hearing is that this kid is already the exception to the rule," he says, which makes her smile and shake her head.

* * *

Settling into his leather office chair, he pulls out his cell phone and places it down on his desk, pausing to admire his lock screen. He remembers that day like it was yesterday; she had dragged him to every store he could think of searching for the "perfect shoes" to go with a new dress she bought, and he was quick to discover that the _perfect_ pair of shoes did not exist.

He'd followed her around for hours, carrying the bags and offering an opinion when she asked, groaning occasionally about the extended shopping trip, while they both knew he secretly enjoyed it.

He snapped the picture when she wasn't looking- and her smile was organic in a way that made his heart swell with pride; first, because he was the one to cause it, second because she was his to love. Above her smile her eyes were hidden behind her large rimmed sunglasses and her hair was pulled back into a sleek updo, something she rarely did during the work week. She had her left hand outstretched as she reached for his phone, likely whining about him taking too many pictures of her as she often did, but he had no intention of stopping. Not when the pictures captured their love through her smile and allowed him to be overcome with a wave of emotion and adoration each time he looked at them.

Naturally, she complained when he set the candid photo of her as his wallpaper, but he loved it too much not to. The way her smile shone. The way her wedding ring was visible on her outstretched hand.

He unlocks the phone and scrolls through his contacts, his thumb hovering over a familiar number.

"Harvey, this is a surprise. Is everything alright?" Stan asks into the receiver.

"Everything's great actually. How have you been?" Harvey asks, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"I think I'm supposed to be the one asking you that," Stan points out. "There's something on your mind."

"How did you-?"

"It's my job to know Harvey. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm not a patient anymore Stan," he replies.

"I didn't mean as a patient, I meant as a friend."

"That's actually why I called. I have some news," Harvey says, taking a deep breath before he continues.

"Donna's pregnant."

"Harvey that's amazing. Mazel tov! That is good news, right?" he asks when Harvey remains silent on the other end of the line.

"Do you remember when we were talking about Louis and you asked me if I would ever want a family?"

"I do," Stan replies hesitantly.

"When you asked me that, I had no idea whether or not I wanted a family. But then Donna and I got together and suddenly it was so clear that I wanted everything with her. I wasn't sure I was ready to be a father when we got married, but I've always been certain Donna would make a great mother. And now that I'm going to be a father, and we're starting a family I know the answer to your question. I want to be the kind of man that my son or daughter is proud of. And I want to show them what love looks like. I'm ready for this Stan. I thought by leaving the firm Donna and I were starting the next chapter of our lives, but this is the next chapter. And this time, I know I'm ready."

"I'm proud of you Harvey. That's quite the realization to come to on your own."

"We both know Donna helped get me here," he admits, smiling into the receiver.

"You're lucky. What you two have is something special."

"Being with Donna is easy. It's natural, it's almost like breathing. And sometimes I wonder how it took us so long to get here but other days I think of how different our relationship would be without our complicated history. I know it's a huge part of what makes us, us, but sometimes I think it's the reason we have trouble communicating."

"Because you expect the other to just know?" Stan clarifies.

"Partly. But I think maybe part of it comes from the fact that, well at least on my part, I'm terrified I'll say or do the wrong thing and this will all disappear.

"You and I both know that the key to a solid relationship is communication. I think that you need to trust in what the two of you have. Push past the fear. We both know that the love you two have for each other can withstand a difference of opinion."

"I know that you're right. And I'm working on it but sometimes that fear is still there."

"It's a process Harvey. You and I both know that, but it's good to see that you came to this realization on your own. It's nice to see that you're making real progress still."

"Thanks Stan."

"Keep working at it, I know you two will figure out what works for you in terms of communication," Stan says.

"And Harvey, you're going to make a great father," Stan says before he hangs up and leaves Harvey to himself in his office.

* * *

"It's a little early for a push present, you know," she jokes as he places a small gift bag in her lap as he crawls into bed beside her.

"A _what_ present?"

"Seriously, Harvey, you didn't have to get me anything," she says as she pulls the tissue paper out of the bag and unwraps it in her lap.

She laughs out loud when she sees what he's gotten her. It's an impossibly tiny grey onesie with three potted cacti across the front with 'don't be a prick' written underneath.

"I promise I won't kill this cactus," he teases, pulling her closer and kissing her temple.

"You better not," she huffs, cracking a smile, "but you've already got the dad jokes down pat," she adds.

"Thank you," she says after a moment, turning to face him and cupping his cheek and giving him a quick kiss.

"I'm sorry I was an asshole," he says sincerely, "and I'm sorry about the next time I'm an asshole, too."

"Apologies don't work like that, Harvey," she laughs, "but thank you."

* * *

"Have I mentioned you look beautiful tonight?" Harvey whispers in Donna's ear as he guides her towards a table in the corner of the restaurant where Mike and Rachel were waiting for them.

"I wouldn't mind hearing it again," she smirks, the feel of his palm on her back sending a chill down her spine.

"You look beautiful. _Both_ of you," He purrs into her ear.

"Harvey," she blushes, hand brushing her stomach briefly over her dress before falling back to her side as they reach the table.

"About time you two showed up," Mike teases as he slides over in the booth and makes room for the couple.

"Harvey said we were meeting at 8:30, it's hardly 8:25?" Donna replies confused.

Mike smirks and glances between the pair before settling back against the booth, "Oh really. I hate to break it to you Donna, but your husband lied to you, our reservation was for 8."

"What? Why?" She turns her head quickly to face her husband, who refuses to meet her gaze.

"My guess is it had something to do with _that_ dress," he half chuckles before Rachel gives him a warning glare.

Harvey blushes and takes a sudden interest in his napkin, while Donna laughs softly and takes his hand beneath the table. She knows Mike was trying to embarrass him but she finds it cute that he can't keep his hands off her. Maybe it was the hormones talking but she was a sucker for horny Harvey and she didn't mind that they were late.

Mike orders a round of drinks for the table and a water for Donna as the group falls into a comfortable conversation about a new brunch place Rachel had recently discovered. The waiter brings over their drinks and Mike clears his throat, holding up his glass.

"To the parents-to-be," Mike toasts.

Clinking their champagne glasses , Mike smiles across the table at his friends and reaches for Rachel's hand.

Clearing his throat, he grips her hand and faces the group, "while we're all here, Rachel and I have something we want to share too."

"Oh my gosh are you guys?!" Donna squeals, eyes darting to Rachel.

"Oh no no, it's not that. But it's big and we're excited to see what you guys think."

"It's about the firm. We wanted to see how you guys would feel about a relocation," Mike explains.

"Relocation? Where?" Harvey asks.

"Manhattan."

* * *

_Stay tuned for..._

**9x16 - Home**

Mike and Rachel move their practice back to the city. Donna and Harvey move back home to start their family. Louis throws a firm wide party to welcome his family home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Suits**

**9x16**

**"Home"**

**A Season 9 Story**

**Written by darveyscactus and CatsBalletHarveySpecter**

* * *

"Manhattan?" Donna blinks back at Mike.

"Yes."

"We were hoping that maybe you two would join us?" Rachel asks. "You don't have to answer now, go home and talk about it, think it over."

"When are you two planning on leaving?" Harvey asks.

"It's not set in stone yet, but we have our eye on an office space and we were hoping to make the move as soon as possible," Mike explains.

The rest of the dinner passes slowly, the pending conversation about a potential move weighing heavy on both Harvey and Donna's minds. After paying the bill, Harvey slips his hand into Donna's as they begin the short walk back to their apartment. It's a warm evening and they walk arm in arm through the city.

Neither of them speak, both thinking about what Mike and Rachel just proposed. When Harvey first suggested he give up his position at Specter Litt Wheeler Williams, she was sure that starting over was the next right thing for them. The perfect way to start their lives together. But now that they had a little one on the way, she wondered if being so far away from their family and friends was what was best for them.

If Mike and Rachel were moving back to the city, so was their support system and that worried her. Plus, it would be nice for her parents to be able to see their grandchild and it would bring them closer to Harvey's brother. Her mind is a mess of what-ifs and possibilities and she feels overwhelmed.

Harvey is the first to break the silence, squeezing her palm gently as he speaks. "So, what are you thinking?"

"What are _you_ thinking?" She parrots back.

"Honestly, I don't hate the idea," he admits. "If _you_ don't hate the idea."

"I don't," she smiles, "It would be nice to be closer to family. Especially now."

"I know it's only been a few months but I don't know, New York will always be home and something about this just seems right," Harvey explains.

"I know I was the one that suggested we do this but we did it and now… I think it might be time to go home," he adds.

"I think so too," she nods, leaning up on her toes to steal a kiss. With one hand planted on his chest, she looks up at him with adoring eyes. Suddenly, she isn't sure why she was so unsure about moving back to Manhattan. As soon as the suggestion leaves Harvey's lips she knows it's what she wants. The fact that they both want it only confirms to her that it's the right choice.

"Let's go start our family back home," he whispers.

_See the money wanna stay_

_For your meal _

_Get another piece of pie_

_For your wife_

_Everybody wanna know _

_How it feel_

_Everybody wanna see _

_What it's like_

_I'll even eat a bean pie_

_I don't mind_

_Me and Missy is so early busy busy makin' money_

_Alright_

_All step back, I'm 'bout to dance_

_The greenback boogie_

Harvey finds himself in a great mood after spending the evening talking about the decision to move with Donna, and by the time he returns from lunch the next day, he's in such high spirits that he doesn't mind that Rachel drops an extra last-minute case on him. The more he thought about it, the more he was confident with their decision to move back to Manhattan. Before Mike and Rachel proposed the move, the thought wouldn't have crossed his mind. He was happy with the life that he and Donna had started in Seattle, but when he sat and asked himself why he was so happy it all came down to Donna. Ever since they'd gotten together, he discovered that home wasn't so much a place as it was a person. It didn't matter where they lived, as long as they were together he knew that everything would work itself out. If their best friends were moving back to the city and Donna wanted to be closer to her parents for when the baby came, that's where he would be. It was an added bonus that one day he would get to take his son or daughter back to the place where they met and tell them all about how he fell in love with their mother.

He is up to his elbows in work when Mike strolls into his office whistling. He acknowledges Mike with a small nod but continues to type, determined to get out of the office at a reasonable hour. Mike takes a seat on the couch, kicking his feet up and crossing his ankles, continuing to whistle which causes Harvey to groan and roll his eyes at his former associate.

"Can I help you with something Mike?"

"No no, don't mind me. I was just thinking, should I get season tickets for the Knicks or the Yankees?"

"And you need me to tell you that the Yankees is the right answer?"

"Maybe I should get both," Mike sighs.

Harvey pulls his laptop screen towards him, offering him a clear view of where Mike has sprawled out on his couch over the photo of him and Donna he has on his desk. Mike continues to ramble to himself about the cons of purchasing both sets of tickets while Harvey watches with an amused grin. He knows exactly what Mike is trying to do and while he appreciates the effort, he's excited to share that he and Donna have decided to join them.

"Are you done?" Harvey asks.

"Then there's the matter of how many to get. Will Rachel want to go with me? Maybe I could take Louis… though I don't think he's much of a sports guy. And then there's the issue of seating. I know you always say courtside is better but what if I feel like sitting in the nosebleeds?"

"Mike-,"

"Did you know that this summer is supposed to be a record high in the city? I know how much you hate the rain out here so maybe you guys can come and visit. We can use whatever tickets I end up buying. I'm sure Rachel would love to see the baby and-,"

"Mike-," Harvey tries again, only with a more forceful tone. "You can stop talking now."

"Alright. I'm just saying it's such a shame that I can't give that second ticket to you."

"So you're telling me that if Donna and I still lived in New York you would give me one of your courtside season tickets for the Knicks?"

"Yup. It's such a shame that it'll probably be wasted on Rachel and her limited knowledge of basketball from romantic comedies."

"I guess you better make sure you spring for the Yankees tickets over the Knicks then," Harvey smirks, folding his hands over his lap. "I wouldn't be caught dead at a Knicks game with you. Now the Yankees, I think we can do that."

"Wait a minute, are you saying-,"

"That we're coming with you? Yeah, I am," Harvey grins, getting up from his desk and accepting the side hug Mike was offering.

"You do realize that now you have to buy me Yankees' tickets, right?" Harvey jokes.

"I already bought them yesterday," Mike replies with a sly smile.

"How did you-?"

"Please, I could tell just by the look on your faces. Butch and Sundance are back, baby!"

"Mike, we _currently_ work together… Nothing is changing," Harvey points out.

"That's our New York thing!" Mike remarks.

"Why can't it be a Seattle thing?" Harvey asks.

"Weren't you busy doing something? I don't have time to go into this right now," Mike shrugs, seeing himself out of Harvey's office. He stops at the door and smiles back at Harvey.

"This feels right, doesn't it? It's kind of like we're getting the band back together."

"The band is _currently_ together."

"But it's different."

"Hmm, it's kind of the same thing."

"The bagels will be better," Mike says.

"Well, I can't argue with that logic," Harvey nods.

"Does Rachel know?"

"I imagine Donna just told her," Harvey answers before reopening his laptop and diving back into his case. As if on cue, they hear excited screaming from Donna's office and Mike can see his wife hugging Donna through the glass wall.

* * *

"Donna," a voice calls, and she looks up to see Alexa standing in her door frame, "do you have a minute?" the young associate asks, and Donna nods as she crosses the room.

In the six months she'd been at the firm, Donna had grown fond of Alexa. She was incredibly smart, hardworking, and willing to take on any task, regardless of how small or inconsequential it seemed. They'd shared some laughs and good conversations over drinks and Donna considered her a friend. As she sits down in one of the chairs across from her desk, Donna offers her a smile and realizes how much she'll miss her once they're in New York.

"What can I do for you, Alexa?"

"Well," she starts, "I heard about you and Harvey, and Mike and Rachel opening the office in New York," she says, "and I know it's a great opportunity for the firm, and Gene, Mike, and Valarie are great lawyers, and they'll do a good job running the office here," she pauses, glancing down at her hands resting in her lap.

"Alexa," Donna says. From their conversations and her own observations, Donna knew that Alexa had a tendency to ramble when she was nervous, or when she had something on her mind. She wasn't quite sure what Alexa was thinking, but Donna had a feeling it had something to do with the announcement Mike had made to the associates that morning about their plans to open an office in New York.

"I know this all sounds sudden, and it kind of is," Donna admits, "when Harvey and I got here, we didn't imagine it to be such a short stay, but when Mike broached the idea with us, it made sense. I love Seattle, and working here, but Harvey and I want to raise our child a bit closer to our families."

"Your….child?" Alexa asks hesitantly.

"Yep," Donna says, a smile spreading across her face as she realizes Alexa is the first person at the firm she's told outside of Harvey, Mike, and Rachel and it feels good to share the news, "I'm pregnant."

"Donna," Alexa gushes, "that's incredible! Congratulations - you're going to be a wonderful mother," she says, and she means it. If the guidance and mentorship she'd received from Donna in just a few months were any indication, this child was going to grow up with quite the female role model.

"Thank you, Alexa," Donna says sincerely, "I appreciate it, but that's not what you came in here to-"

"Can I come with you?" Alexa blurts out, cutting Donna off.

"To New York?" Donna asks, taken aback by her question.

"Please?" she asks again. "I know the firm here isn't going anywhere, but I've learned more for you and Rachel, and Mike, and Harvey in the last six months than I did in three years of law school and I," she pauses, glancing up at Donna, "I don't want that to stop," she finishes, offering a shy smile.

"Alexa," Donna says.

"I know," she jumps in, "it's a lot to ask, but I figured it was worth a shot."

"Are you sure?"

"I am," she replies confidently, "I've spent my entire life on the west coast, I went through a pretty bad breakup a few months ago, and this just feels right. I could use the change of scenery."

"Well," Donna says, leaning back in her chair and taking a moment to ponder Alexa's question, "I suppose we _are _going to need to hire associates for the New York office," she thinks out loud, "and it sure would make the transition easier if someone already knew us and our clients. And, personally, I'd love to have one of Seattle's finest join us as a senior associate, if she's up for it, that is?" Donna finishes, turning back to Alexa to see her expression.

"Oh she most certainly is," Alexa replies, practically beaming. "Wait - senior associate? Are you sure? I'm barely a year out of law school -"

"I'm sure," Donna assures her. "You work harder than the rest of the associate pool combined. You listen, and you ask the right questions."

"Thank you Donna," Alexa says sincerely.

"You're welcome," she replies, "as long as you aren't just using us as your ticket to New York and you're really just planning on taking Dana Scott up on that job offer the first chance you get," she smirks.

"Donna! I would never," Alexa exclaims quickly, stumbling over her words.

"Relax, Alexa," Donna says with a smile, "I'm joking."

* * *

During their conversation about moving back to Manhattan one of the things she and Harvey discussed was who would get to tell Louis they were returning to the city. In the end, Harvey agreed that Donna should be the one to share the news with him and she was thrilled, knowing he would be thrilled too. Though she regularly video calls Louis and Lucy, she knew he was going to be over the moon about her and Harvey returning and she couldn't wait to share that Lucy was going to have a playmate.

Donna takes a seat at the island in the kitchen, placing down her mug of tea while she dials Louis' number and waits for him to pick up.

"Hey stranger," she smiles into the phone when Louis picks up.

"Donna, what a surprise! How are you?" Louis greets.

"I'm great Louis, how's everything at the firm?"

"Oh you know me, always putting out little fires everywhere. But everything is going well. Did Katrina tell you she and Samantha signed Miranda Priestly?"

"You know what, she did happen to mention it when she was telling me about that night."

"She _happened_ to mention it?! What the hell could have been more eventful than signing Miranda!"

Donna smiles to herself, thinking back on her phone call with Katrina after her night out with Samantha, "I can't think of anything, that's a big thing for the firm! Speaking of firms in the city…" she begins.

"Oh you heard that Eric moved to that shitty firm with the equally shitty coffee?"

"Not exactly," Donna says. "But I did hear that a new firm was opening up."

"Oh?"

"I've heard they have some top notch lawyers too, and one hell of a COO. A little place called Zane Ross," she grins just hearing the words out loud.

"You guys are coming back to me?!" Louis gasps.

"All _three_ of us."

"This is going to be amazing. Wait, three of you?"

"Well five if you count Mike and Rachel."

"Donna, does this mean… Am I going to be a godfather?! You guys are having a baby?"

"Well I don't know about the whole godfather thing but yes, we are."

"I think this might be the greatest day of my entire life. My best friend is moving back to the city and you two are bringing a playmate for little Lucy! Congratulations Donna!"

"Thanks Louis."

"We absolutely need to go and register once you're back! As the godfather I need to make sure my godchild has nothing but the best."

"Louis, I'm not sure we're doing the whole god parent thing…"

"Do I not look godfatherly enough? Ask anyone, I will godfather the shit out of this."

"Of course you would Louis, why don't we talk about it more once we're officially back?"

"Which is when?"

"Soon. We're actually looking for a new place already."

"Okay I have to ask, if you're coming back to the city why not come back to the firm?"

"Moving to Zane Ross was the best thing that could have happened for us as newlyweds. We actually go home and have dinner together and I can't remember the last time we worked a Saturday. The firm will always have a little piece of my heart Louis, but it just isn't right for us anymore. Especially with a little one on the way," she explains.

"But we can still do our old weekly lunch dates?"

"I'm looking forward to it. Talk to you soon Louis," she smiles before hanging up and reaching for her tea.

She relaxes as she sits and enjoys her tea, her hand coming up to run over her non-existent baby bump. Perhaps the best part about moving back to the city was knowing her little one was going to be on the receiving end of endless love from their firm family.

* * *

"I'm just saying, would it really be the worst thing if this box somehow got lost on its way back to New York?" Harvey jokes as he wraps the last of Donna's fish mugs in bubble wrap and places it in the box on the counter.

"I've brought you coffee in that mug plenty of times," she says, "I didn't hear you complaining then."

"I was focused less on the coffee and more on the half naked woman walking towards me," he sasses.

"You're an idiot," she retorts.

"You know," he says after a moment, taking a breath and glancing around the living room, "I really do like this apartment."

"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" she asks.

"No, it's not that," he quickly assures her, "I'm just thinking about all of the memories we've made here. Like, _right here._" he says, tapping his fingers on the counter top.

"Oh my god," Donna says, rolling her eyes at him as she chokes back a laugh.

"And over there," he continues, gesturing to the couch.

"And there," he says, pointing over to the lounge chairs on their small balcony.

"Okay, okay," she laughs, feeling a slight blush rising to her cheeks, "I get it. Lots of _memories_," she says, smirking at him.

"I have to admit," she says after their laughter subsides, "I like Seattle a lot more than I thought I would."

"Because of all the _memories_, right?" Harvey teases, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Not _just _that," she says, "but I like that it was new to both of us, and we got to explore it together as we started this new chapter of our lives," she admits.

"Me too," he replies sincerely, taking a step towards her to wrap his arms around her waist and plant a kiss to the top of her head.

"I love that you only complained a little bit when I insisted we try as many Thai delivery places as possible," she says, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck.

"That's funny," he deadpans, "I don't remember any complaining," he retorts, which earns him a pointed glance from Donna.

"We never did find a good burger joint."

"We're not leaving for a few weeks - there's still hope," she says unenthusiastically, stepping out of his embrace to fill their drinks - whiskey for him, and water for her.

"I did like being so close to the water," he says, following her to the couch, "I know New York has the Hudson, but that's not the same."

"And I really liked my pilates studio," she adds, snuggling into his side.

"And the coffee shop around the corner - although the bagels were just okay," he says, which makes her laugh.

"Oh and that little Italian place down by the water - they have the best ravioli."

"Really?" He asks, "I think the carbonara is better."

"Well you're entitled to your incorrect opinion," she says defiantly.

"I'm glad we did this," he tells her after a moment.

"Me too," she says, "a short but sweet stay in Seattle."

"Short but sweet," he agrees, pulling her closer into his side.

"Where do you think it happened?"

"Where do I think _what _happened"

"That," he says, as his hand slides from her thigh to rest lightly on her stomach.

"Oh my god," she snorts.

"Counter?" he says, extending his hand to her and leading her through the living room.

"The balcony?," he teases, pulling her closer and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"The bedroom?" he continues, turning the corner and guiding her down the hall, "oh, or maybe the shower?"

"You're insufferable," she says, smiling as the back of her thighs make contact with the bed and his lips find hers.

"And yet, you're still here," he replies, smirking into the kiss as he deepens it and joins her on the bed.

"I am."

* * *

"Rach?" Mike calls out as he enters the apartment. Tossing his keys onto the hall table, he makes his way through their apartment looking for her.

"In here," she calls back softly.

He follows her voice and finds her sitting on the floor in their en suite bathroom, a tissue in her hand as she dabbed at her damp eyes.

"Rach, what happened? What's wrong?" he asks, dropping to the floor and taking a seat beside her. He places his palm over her knee and squeezes it, a silent promise that whatever was wrong he would do his best to fix it.

"I was late," she begins to explain, sniffling and wiping at her eyes, "I thought that maybe-,"

She babbles, handing him a negative pregnancy test from the floor beside her.

"Hey hey," he coos as she begins to whimper, tossing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his side. Her body shakes as she sobs and he holds her while smoothing down her hair with his open palm, placing the occasional kiss to her head.

They stay like that until his legs go numb from sitting on the cold tile floor and her tears stop falling and staining the shoulder of his shirt. When she finally raises her head from his shoulder, he uses his thumb to wipe away the last of her tears. She does her best to offer him a weak smile, though it comes off as more of a grimace than a smile.

"I'm sorry," she whispers.

"Sorry? What on earth are you sorry for?" he asks.

"I just really wanted us to be pregnant."

"And one day we will be. Good things take time."

"I guess," she mumbles.

"I have no doubt that when the time comes for us, it's going to have been worth the wait. Now, what do you say we get up off the floor and go have some dessert for dinner?"

"I love you," she smiles, cupping his face in her hands before leaning over to steal a kiss.

"I love you too," he breathes, forgetting about their dessert plans and instead kissing her back.

* * *

It'd been years since either of them had been on the real estate market in New York, except for Harvey's brief stint as Rick Sorkin, and they were both surprised by how much it had changed. Where apartment hunting in Seattle had been a breeze, finding somewhere in New York to start their family was a challenge. The market moved quickly and what was available one day was gone the next. They'd done half a dozen virtual viewings from Seattle and, when it came down to it, they enlisted Samantha to outrun, literally, a competing bid to their real estate agent.

It was all worth it though, because they found the townhouse of their dreams. They started looking in the Upper East Side, since that was the neighbourhood Donna was the most familiar with, but they found their townhouse by chance while she was scrolling through listings. It was a stone building in Gramercy a few blocks from the Flatiron building. It had dramatic front steps and a small backyard with a patio and a bit of grass - "_just enough room for a grill, _Donna had joked when they'd taken the online tour, "_no shortage of burgers here."_

They were a reasonable distance from the office space Mike had chosen for the firm, near Harvey's favorite boxing gym and, much to his dismay, walking distance from the shitty Thai place. Donna's old pilates studio had even opened a new space closeby, so the location could not have been more perfect.

Harvey and Mike had left Seattle a few days early to get the New York office set up while Donna and Rachel stayed behind to tie up a few loose ends, so Harvey was the one who'd met with the real estate agent and gotten the keys. Donna and Rachel had made it to New York that morning, and he was excited for Donna to finally see their new home. Just as he's thinking about calling her, he hears the doorbell ring and bounds towards the entryway to let her in.

"Honey, I'm -" she starts to say as he opens the door, but he's picking her up bridal style and carrying her over the threshold before she can finish her sentence.

"Harvey, you already did this," she laughs, "twice actually."

"Well they do say the third time's the charm," he says proudly, "plus, who knows how much longer -"

"Finish that sentence, Specter, and you're a dead man," she interrupts as he places her back on the ground.

"Welcome home," he says softly after a moment, bringing his hands to her hips and pulling her in for a quick kiss.

"Happy to be here," she replies as they part, smiling up at him.

"Come on, let me give you a tour!" he says excitedly, grabbing her hand and leading her into the house.

He leads her through the living room and she stops to admire the white brick fireplace, which was a huge selling point for her when they'd seen pictures of the house online. There were built in bookshelves on either side and, while Harvey _thought _they'd be filled with his record collection, she couldn't wait to fill them with her favorite books, leaving the shelves closest to the floor to be filled with books for their child.

From the living room, they go into the kitchen which is flooded with afternoon light thanks to the large window over the sink looking out into the backyard. It's not the biggest kitchen in the world, but it's more than enough for them. There's a small island in the center of the room and Donna's mind immediately jumps to years in the future - their kid sitting there after school, working on homework and recounting the highlights of their school day as Harvey prepares dinner.

"I see you've made real progress with the unpacking," she jokes, gesturing to the glasses and bottle of scotch on the counter.

"I have, haven't I?" he replies genuinely and flashes her a grin, fully aware that her statement was sarcastic.

From the kitchen, they pass through a small breakfast nook and the dining room before they're back in the entryway. Another thing that Donna had loved about the house from what she'd seen online was the layout of the first floor - each room was a distinct space, but everything flowed together. She couldn't help but think how perfect the space would be for entertaining.

At the top of the stairs there's a small landing with a few more built in shelves and some windows. It's a four bedroom house and they'd decided that aside from the master bedroom there'd be a nursery, a guest room, and a home office - for now. They quickly peek into the guest room and office and Donna is happy to see there's as much natural light in the rooms as the photos made it seem. After a quick look into the hall bathroom, Harvey leads her into their bedroom.

The room itself is pretty big - bigger than the bedroom in her old New York apartment, but smaller than his, and just slightly smaller than the room they'd just left behind in Seattle. Donna had loved the high ceilings and two large closets the room offered, but for Harvey, the selling point had been the fireplace and the fact that it'd be theirs and theirs alone.

Donna explores the empty space, taking in all the small details that hadn't been visible during their online tour. She makes a comment about the crown molding which Harvey doesn't understand before she wanders into the bathroom, him following closely behind.

"So, which do you want to try out first?" he whispers from behind her, closing the gap between them and wrapping his arms loosely around her waist, "tub or shower?"

"Oh my god," she says, unable to hide her laugh as she turns around in his grip so she's facing him.

"This house is incredible," she says, a wide smile taking over her face, "even better than the pictures."

"I'm glad you love it," he says before pulling her in for a quick kiss, "but there's still one more room to see."

With that, he grabs her hand again and leads her back through their bedroom and down the hall. She knows where he's taking her and she's excited to finally see the room that would soon belong to their baby. From the photos, the nursery was her favorite room in the house. It was the perfect size for a baby, with some room to grow. But the best part, at least in Donna's mind, was the window seat that looked out into the backyard. As a kid she'd always wanted a window seat in her bedroom, thinking there was no better place to read, play, and imagine, and the thought of her child growing up with a place to do just that made her happy.

Harvey pushes open the door and her breath catches in her throat as she follows him in. The room is empty, as expected, except for a crib pushed up against one wall. It's a dark wood with a light grey padding at the bottom - she'd made a comment over dinner a few weeks ago that she'd like a crib very much like the one in front of her now. She smiles and shakes her head slightly as she takes it all in - genuinely surprised by his gesture, and the fact that he clearly remembered something she'd said in passing.

"Harvey," she says after a moment, turning to look at him.

"I know they'll be too small for this right away, and we still have a ton of stuff to get," he explains, "but you're doing so much for our baby right now, and this just felt like something I could take care of for you."

"I love it," she says simply, and he can't help but crack a smile at the completely bewildered look on her face.

"You know," he says, "I think there's room for two in here."

"Let's get through this one first, okay?" she laughs.

"You never know, could be twins," he says nonchalantly, "a little BOGO."

"A _what now_," she retorts, her head snapping back to face him.

"You know, birth one, get one," he says, finding a lot of amusement in his own joke.

"That's horrible," she says, doing her best to swallow a laugh, "please never say that again."

"Let's just call it my first dad joke," he says with a satisfied smile as she rolls her eyes at him.

"You do know my mom's sisters are twins, right?" he asks after a moment.

"Mmhmm," she swallows, and he isn't convinced.

"You forgot," he says, baiting her.

"I didn't _forget_," she clarifies, "I just didn't remember."

"They do say it skips a generation."

"Harvey?"

"Yes dear?" he says, his voice sickly sweet and he can't help the slight smile spreading across his face as he sees a small wave of panic wash over hers.

"Shut up," she deadpans.

"Good thing we have that doctor's appointment next week, isn't it?"

* * *

He hated white. The colour was so bleak and it made everything seem so bright. Office spaces should not be white. Mike and Rachel had designed the new office space to be minimal and modern and while Harvey enjoyed certain aspects of the newly designed space, he hated that the kitchen was all white. Between the glossy marble counter, the eggshell coloured cabinets and the matte finished tables, it was just _too_ much.

As Donna follows Rachel through the hallways of their new office, she can't help but think that the space is a perfect blend of the four of them. The dark woods and leather accents blend well with soft edges, glass walls, and open spaces. Most of the offices and conference rooms had windows that let in the afternoon sunlight, but her favourite part of the firm was the kitchen. She loved the pristine white floors and countertops and the few bright green plants that the designers had scattered around the space. It was located in the center of the firm and she imagined it'd be a great gathering space - a place for new associates and partners to mingle and get to know one another. She was already looking forward to their first all staff happy hour but her favourite part of the kitchen was the new, state of the art Nespresso sitting on the counter in one corner. As she and Rachel walk through the kitchen she stops for a second and pulls out a small bottle of vanilla, tucking it into the side of the cabinet above the Nespresso.

He supposes he can just eat lunch in his office. At least that was nice. It was much larger than his office in Seattle but not quite as large as the office he had as managing partner. With it's large mahogany desk and cushy leather chair, he could certainly see himself eating lunch at his desk. His office was next to Donna's, a small detail he'd secretly requested when Mike asked him what office he wanted. He felt comforted knowing she was just on the other side of the exposed brick wall, working away. In his mind, it was almost symbolic of all of the years they'd spent working side by side. A tiny reminder that while everything had changed, nothing had really changed. They were still Harvey and Donna. And now they were back to dominate the New York law scene.

On the other side of the wall, Donna surveys her new office. It's smaller and a bit boxier than her first office as COO, but just about the same size as the one she'd left behind in Seattle. When they were picking offices, she fought Mike for the one with the most windows, and laughed as Harvey tried to be subtle about making sure he got one next to her. She didn't mind it though, in fact it was a small comfort knowing that he was so close. The other side of her office shared a wall with Rachel; she loved that her best friend was literally just steps away whenever she needed a coffee run or a midday gossip session.

She smiles to herself as she looks down at her desk and sees two trinkets she's had as long as she can remember. Her blue ceramic bird and 'lets kill all the lawyers' plaque that had now traveled across the country and back already made her new office feel like home. She set them up in a corner of her desk next to the framed business cards Harvey had given her on their first day of work in Seattle, her favorite photo of her and Harvey from their wedding and a photo of her, Harvey, Mike, and Rachel taken at the top of the Space Needle on their 'Seattle Family Fun Day' that Mike had insisted on shortly after their move. A lot had changed in her life over the past year - both personally and professionally - but she'd never felt more content. She was back in the city she loved with friends that had become family, working a job she never imagined would mean so much to her, and getting ready to start a family with the love of her life.

He spent longer than he cared to admit picking out the perfect pictures for his desk. One of him and Donna on their wedding day, one of the four of them in Seattle and one of Donna on the day she told him that their family of two was going to become a family of three. When they first moved into the office, he spent the entire afternoon hounding Mike and whining about the fact that their offices were on the 34th floor which meant the view of the skyline wasn't great. In addition to the pictures on his desk, his office wall featured his law degree and the photo of his mother that had been featured in every office he'd moved to since he acquired it.

She's sitting in her desk chair spinning slightly from side to side when she sees a familiar face standing in the doorway. She smiles and gestures for Alexa to enter and she takes a seat in one of the chairs.

"So, is New York everything you dreamed it would be?" Donna asks with a laugh.

"It smells a little weird," Alexa replies, "but other than that it's been great so far."

"I'm really glad you let me come with you," she continues, "I think this is going to be really good for me."

"I trust you found your new office?" Donna asks.

"I did, but you didn't need to do that - I would have been perfectly fine with a cubicle like in Seattle."

"Trust me, soon enough that bullpen is going to be filled with boys talking nonstop about poker tournaments and fantasy football leagues, you don't need to deal with that kind of nonsense," Donna jokes, "plus, you've more than earned it."

"Well thank you, I really appreciate it," she says sincerely.

"Hey," Donna calls as Alexa stands to leave, "our friends at our old firm are having a little get together later this week, would you come? I'd love for you to meet them."

* * *

Looking for an excuse to throw a party and use the new firm branded napkins, Louis decides on throwing a welcome back party for the Ross' and the Specters'. With everything being so hectic the past few months, he figures everyone at Litt Wheeler Williams Bennett could use a night of fun and what better way to have some fun than to extend an olive branch to the associates at Zane Ross.

While Harvey didn't see the point in a joint firm event, he was happy to see how excited Donna was about going to the party. She'd talked non stop about how great it was going to be to see everyone again and how this was the perfect way to celebrate the beginning of their family with their firm family. He watches as she flits from the bedroom to the bathroom, excitedly getting ready and humming an old jazz tune he'd recently shown her.

Over the past few months, he had come to realize that one of his favourite things to do was watch as Donna got ready. She always had a light, carefree energy as she got dressed and her positive energy was contagious. As he fastens his tie around his neck, he sits at the foot of the bed and watches as she puts on a pair of earrings in the mirror and steps into a silk black dress.

He gets up and makes his way to the bathroom, where she raises her red curls and exposes the zipper on the back of her dress for him to zip. He wordlessly does up her dress, leaning forward to place a delicate kiss on her exposed neck before she drops her hair and turns to view herself in the mirror. He wraps his arms around her waist, dropping his head to her shoulder and gently swaying her.

"You look beautiful," he whispers, "Both of you."

She runs her palms over her barely there baby bump, talking his hands and clasping them between her own.

"Pretty soon this dress isn't going to fit me," she says, a realization washing over her face.

"Then we'll just have to buy you a new dress," he responds.

"And you're still going to love me when I no longer fit into any of my dresses?" she asks in a whisper.

"Donna," he says, spinning her around to face him and raising her chin with his thumb so he can look her in the eye. "I will still love you even when you're old and grey and forget my name."

"I could never forget your name, it's my name now too."

"Speaking of last names, I was thinking that maybe our little one gets the hyphenated version of our last names ."

"You want to go with Paulsen-Specter?" she smiles.

"I do. If that's alright with you."

"What made you decide that?"

"I've just been thinking about how our little girl is going to need her mother's confidence and her father's charm, she's going to need a little bit of Paulsen and a little bit of Specter."

"Our little _girl_?" she smirks.

"What, you're not the only one who can have a _feeling_ you know."

She steps towards him and fixes his tie, smoothing it down before reaching for the lapels on his jacket and leaning up to kiss him.

"Shall we?"

"Let's get this over with," he teases.

* * *

"Hey Louis can you give me a hand with-," Katrina calls out to Louis from where she's attempting to hang a streamer in the lobby.

"I've got it," Samantha cuts her off, reaching for the opposite end and pinning it to the wall.

Katrina blushes looking down at the step ladder she is standing on while she thanks Samantha for her help.

"You look nice," Samantha compliments, eyeing Katrina's cream coloured wrap dress.

"So do you, but you already know that I think blue is your colour," Katrina replies as she steps down from the ladder.

"I'm not saying that's why I chose this dress, but I'm also not saying that," Samantha grins, stepping towards Katrina.

"There you two are!" Louis cries as he struts into the lobby. "Why aren't the streamers up yet? What the hell have you two been doing?"

"We're literally putting them up right now Louis," Samantha nods towards the single silver strand above the silver lettering on the wall.

"The party starts in less than _three _hours! We're trying to make a good impression here!"

"I think we can manage to hang the rest in the next three hours…" Samantha sighs.

"Not at this rate! Quit the chit chatting and get to work. My god I liked things better around here before you two started hanging out."

"Careful or we're going to start ganging up on you," Samantha warns him, tossing her arm over Katrina's shoulder while they both flash Louis an obnoxious smile.

Louis leaves them to finish decorating with a heavy sigh and Samantha drops her hand from Katrina's shoulder and eyes the empty wall.

"I think it looks kind of nice with just one," she says. "Minimalist."

"Nice try, now help me with the rest."

* * *

Mike and Rachel arrive when the party is already in full swing and many of their new coworkers are already mingling with their former coworkers. Rachel spots Katrina near the back wall and drags Mike along with her to say hello.

"Well _shiiiitttt, _look what the cat dragged in," Katrina greets, hugging Mike and then Rachel.

"Rachel you look incredible," she adds.

"Katrina it's so good to see you, that name looks good up there," Rachel says.

"Who would have thought, Ross and Bennett, on the walls of two New York law firms," Mike smirks.

"Certainly not me," she laughs, "How are you guys? Excited to be back?"

"Ecstatic," Rachel claps, "Expanding the firm is honestly a dream come true."

"Well, we're really glad you guys are back in town," Katrina grins.

"How are things around here? You know now that you're a name partner and all?" Rachel asks. Though she and Katrina had never been insanely close, she can't help but feel extremely proud of her for how far she'd come since working for her father.

"Everything has been amazing! Samantha and I actually just signed Miranda Priestly."

"No way!" Rachel gasps, "What was she like?!"

Taking this as his cue to leave the ladies to gossip about whoever this Miranda woman was, Mike spots Louis near the makeshift bar and excuses himself to go and say hello.

"Louis," he calls out as he approaches.

"Mike, you guys made it!" Louis grins, pulling him into a brief hug.

"Of course we did, this is a party for Zane Ross, isn't it? I'm the _Ross_ half," Mike laughs.

Grabbing a drink, Louis and Mike end up at one of the standing tables near the elevators where Louis welcomes Mike back to the city and makes a lame joke about them _sharing_ clients.

"You do know that we aren't a corporate law firm, right?" Mike asks.

"Of course. But I just wanted us to be on the same page. No client stealing."

"I don't think it will be a problem, but you've got yourself a deal Louis."

"I'm assuming that I don't have to remind you that a verbal contract is still a binding contract?"

"You don't," Mike nods, downing the rest of his drink. "I got it."

"While we're at it, I know that you and Harvey have probably gotten really close again so I don't want you to feel intimidated now that he's back on the same coast as his best friend."

"I wouldn't dream of it Louis," Mike laughs. It had been a while since he and Louis had seen each other and he was glad to see that despite becoming a father and managing a firm, Louis was still very _Louis. _

* * *

"You aren't nervous, are you?" she asks, grabbing his hand as they step into the elevator in the lobby of their old office building. She's teasing, but there's a hint of sincerity in the question as well. Though he'd considered leaving the firm for fleeting moments at various points in his career, he'd really never seen himself leaving New York. But that was also a time when he never imagined it possible to have _everything _with the love of his life.

"Not nervous," he replies, "it's kind of weird though."

And it was, but the good kind of weird. While their stay in Seattle was shorter than they'd anticipated, he thinks it was always in the back of their minds that Seattle would be temporary and they'd find their way back to New York at some point. As the elevator climbed towards the 50th floor, he knew that re-entering the place he'd spent most of his adult life would probably hit him with a wave of nostalgia. He was excited to see their old friends again, but he'd never been more sure that he and Donna were on the path that was right for their growing family.

"Let's do this," she says, giving his hand a squeeze as the elevator doors open and they step into a scene all too familiar to both of them.

Donna takes a quick glance at the wall as they step off the elevator. It'll probably always be a little bit weird to her to no longer see 'Specter' associated with this place, but she smiles and thinks that their former home couldn't be in more capable hands.

"Donna! Harvey!" Louis' voice carries through the crowded lobby and they turn to see him excitedly making their way towards them with two glasses - champagne for Harvey and sparkling cider for Donna.

Donna practically jumps into Louis' open arms and he gives her a kiss on the cheek. She feels herself tearing up as she embraces her friend - their weekly FaceTime calls were fine, but there's certainly nothing like being back in the same city.

"I missed you so much Louis," she says as they part.

"Good to see you," Harvey says, extending his hand, but Louis refuses, once again opening his arms wide, wordlessly asking for a hug.

"Come on," Louis says, "bring it in, brother."

Harvey rolls his eyes, but Donna gives him a quick nudge on the back and he reluctantly embraces the other man.

"I'm just so happy you're back, Louis says finally, "you're going to be excellent parents, you know."

"Thanks Louis," Donna says genuinely, patting his forearm.

"Harvey, I know you're going to be a great dad," Louis starts to ramble, "but if you need any pointers, I'm here for you.

"Thanks -," Harvey starts to say, before Louis interrupts him.

"Actually, Sheila and I took this great lamaze class - you'd love it," he says excitedly, "I can refer you.

Donna laughs to herself as Harvey trips over his words in an attempt to form a response to Louis. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices Katrina and Samantha huddled closely at the end of the bar across the room.

"Well, I'll leave you boys to it then," she says, smirking at Harvey and excited to have found an exit from a conversation that was bound to get even more ridiculous.

Donna catches Katrina's eye as she approaches and she watches as she excuses herself from her conversation with Samantha, resting her hand on the other woman's forearm in the process.

"Donna!" Katrina says excitedly as the two women embrace, "Welcome back!

"Thanks Katrina," she says, "you want to tell me what that's all about?" she asks, gesturing over Katrina's shoulder to where Samantha still stood, eyes trained on Katrina's backside.

"Oh, um," Katrina says, blush quickly rising to her cheeks as she spoke, "actually -," she pauses, glancing up at Donna for a moment before continuing, "I'm not quite sure," she admits, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Well then," Donna starts, matching Katrina's whisper, "how about we grab drinks next week and you can catch me up on _everything _you've been up to?"

"I'd like that," Katrina replies with a smile.

* * *

As the party begins to wind down and the associates from both firms begin to head home for the night, Harvey, Mike, Gretchen and Louis find themselves deep in conversation in the lobby of the firm. Harvey spots Samantha, Donna, Rachel and Katrina coming from the direction of Donna's former office, an office he's been told now belongs to Katrina and he smiles. He loved that Donna got along so well with everyone. Whether it was someone she interacted with on a daily basis like Rachel or someone she seldom saw like Samantha, she had a way with people that always left him in awe.

The ladies join them and Samantha asks him how it feels to not have his name up on a wall, a joke he humors by teasing Mike and the group roars with laughter. It was almost surreal. To be standing in the lobby of the very place where he gave his all to in trying to get those silver letters that spelled out _Specter. _Not only was this the place where he considered his life to have begun, but he was standing here, years later with once strangers that he now considered his family. If only Jessica could be here, and see them all together like this, he knew she would be proud. Though some of them had moved on to new careers, he was glad that they all knew that the place formerly known as Pearson Specter Litt would always be home.

"I'd like to propose a toast," Louis says, raising his glass. With one arm wrapped around Donna's waist, Harvey does the same and is followed by Donna, Samantha and Katrina, Alex and his wife and Mike and Rachel. Gretchen is the last to raise her glass, and her teary eyes don't go unnoticed by the group.

"Gretchen are you crying?" Louis asks.

"I'm not crying you fool! It's just nice to see everyone here, together."

"Like I was saying," Louis clears his throat, "To Harvey and Donna and their soon to be little one. And to Mike and Rachel, congratulations on expanding your firm, we're all so glad to have you guys back."

Before everyone has a chance to clink their glasses, Harvey speaks up, "Louis do you mind if I add something?"

"By all means," Louis nods.

"This past year has been one hell of a year. Not only for us," he pauses and smiles at Donna, "But for this firm," he looks at the new names gracing the wall, "for expanding families," he nods to Louis, "and for old families coming back together," he says turning to Mike and Rachel.

"Leaving this place is one of the hardest things that I have ever done, but you two made our move so much easier and I don't think there are enough words to thank you for everything you've done for us. Every single one of you has become family to us and I can't think of a better place or a better group of people to be celebrating our next step with. So a toast," he proposes, stealing a glance of his wife and her glass of water. He gently squeezes her hip before he continues speaking, ever grateful that she had been by his side for this crazy journey. Every mistake he made, every victory he celebrated, Donna was there. And for that, he was eternally grateful.

He raises his glass again, waiting as the others do the same, "To friends who have become family, to my wife who has been my everything for as long as I can remember, and to the place that brought us all together."

The End.

* * *

_Dedicated to our online suits family._


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